Compressed Workweek

In compressed workweek schedules, the workweek is compressed into fewer than 5 days by increasing the number of hours an employee is required to work each day. The most common form of compressed workweek in the United States is the 4-day, 40-hour workweek (4/40). Usually employees will take either Friday or Monday off, extending their weekend to 3 days. However, because some compressed workweek schedules are implemented because of long distances between the worker’s home and workplace (e.g., oil industry, merchant shipping), having a 3-day weekend is not necessarily a part of a compressed workweek schedule. Recently, variations of the typical 4/40 schedule (e.g., 3/36, 3/38, and 3/40) have been adopted by some organizations. The Society for Human Resource Management’s 2001 Benefits Survey showed that ...