The Four-Day Workweek: A Systematic Literature Review on Sustainability Trade-Offs Within and Between Compressed and Reduced-Hour Models

Introduction: The four-day workweek (4DWW) has gained attention as an alternative working time arrangement, with potential implications for worker well-being, organizational performance, and environmental impact. However, different 4DWW models restructure working time in distinct ways, which likely lead to diverging consequences. In the compressed 4DWW, workers maintain a full-time workload over four extended workdays (e.g., four 10-hour shifts), whereas in the reduced-hour 4DWW, total weekly working hours are reduced, often with salary adjustments. While both models shorten the workweek, they likely imply different trade-offs with regard to well-being, productivity, and environmental impact, for example. Yet, the sustainability implications of different 4DWW models— spanning social, economic, and environmental dimensions—remain insufficiently understood.