Four Days a Week by Juliet Schor

FOUR DAYS A WEEKby Juliet Schor describes “The Life-Changing Solution for Reducing Employee Stress, Improving Well-Being, and Working Smarter” Schor, a bestselling author, an economist, and a professor of sociology at Boston College, says the “secret sauce” is to cut out unproductive activities, especially meetings. She also notes that employees prefer a full day off “rather than snippets.” In terms of a four-day week, numerous benefits, including increased productivity, better employee attitudes, and greater talent retention are often cited.The American Psychological Association has published research pointing to the benefits of this policy. For interested readers, Schor succinctly explains her research findings in this May 2025 Wall Street Journal article and in her April 2022 TedTalk which has had over three million views:

This is a fascinating topic, meriting additional study and consideration. Some questions to consider, for example, would be whether the shorter work week could be applied across industries or will it contribute to greater inequality and resentment between classes of workers. Another thought: what is the long-term impact – specifically, are productivity gains sustainable? Schor has made a significant contribution to the debate with her many case studies and exploration of different implementation strategies companies could pursue. Schor includes an entire chapter on AI, for example, citing an “estimate that the productivity gains of this technology could enable 28% of the workforce, or 35 million workers, to transition to thirty-two hours by 2033” and quotes a source who asks, “why can't these technologies, if they're able to do 20% of what a human does - or did - why can't that 20% be given back to the employee?” Looking for even more discussion on the Future of Work? Be sure to explore the McKinsey featured insights on that topic.

Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

MEDITATIONS FOR MORTALS by Oliver Burkeman (Four Thousand Weeks) is subtitled “Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts.” The publisher describes this title as “a guiding philosophy of life Oliver Burkeman calls imperfectionism.” What stood out for me was the question: “How do we shed the illusion that life will really begin as soon as we can get on top of everything?” Ironically, I truly need to carve out some time to spend reflecting on this text, but I did attend – and thoroughly enjoyed – the discussion between Burkeman and Daniel Pink recently which was hosted by Family Action Network. Their far-ranging conversation covered many of Burkeman’s suggestions like crafting a done list or try not to picture a “bucket” that needs to be emptied, but instead a river of choices. There was a great emphasis on not overanalyzing and “just doing it” or finishing a task to fully benefit from the resulting endorphins. Burkeman, a British author and journalist, wrote “This Column Will Change Your Life” for The Guardian until 2020. More recently, The Wall Street Journal published a short excerpt about freedom from MEDITATIONS FOR MORTALS which notes “Once you begin to approach life as a matter of trade-offs and consequences, it’s easier to say no to things you might not previously have dared to turn down.” And Burkeman writes further for Fast Company, extolling the virtues of “why ‘daily-ish’ habits can be better than everyday routines.” Much to ponder.