WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — Some think the traditional five-day, 40-hour work week should be a thing of the past. For a year and a half, a Northeast Ohio company has been giving its employees a three-day weekend, every weekend.
Advanced RV in Willoughby was one of several hundred companies and manufacturers globally to trial a four-day work week while maintaining employees’ pay. Now it says the model is here to stay.
“Who wouldn’t want another 52 days off a year?” said Benjamin Aldoory, who works in Advanced RV’s finishing department.
The company, which builds custom, luxury Mercedes Sprinter motorhomes, formed a committee to discuss the possible pros and cons before committing to trying out a four-day work week.
Aldoory was enthusiastically supportive of the idea. However, some of his coworkers were skeptical they could finish their work and maintain the company’s level of customer service in fewer hours each week.
“Another extreme [perspective was], ‘We can’t do this. I can’t do my whole job in 40 hours,’” said owner Mike Neundorfer.
After 40 years in the air pollution abatement industry, Neundorfer created the company to pursue his love for travel and the outdoors.
“It made me realize what I have a passion for, which is innovation, technical innovation, and creativity,” he said.
He surmised innovation and creativity would benefit from a better work-life balance. A six-month, global trial led by the organization 4 Day Week Global appeared to be an opportunity to test the theory.
“We go through life to create experiences. And those experiences become memories and those memories get leveraged as we go in life,” Neundorfer said, explaining he wanted to give his employees more time to spend with family.
A year and a half later, the company has adapted to the shorter work week. To cover all weekdays, some employees work Monday-Thursday, while others work Tuesday-Friday. Neundorfer said staff identified and addressed inefficiencies and streamlined workflow.
“[We adjusted] the length of meetings, who attends meetings. We totally redid a lot of our processes to make them more efficient,” he said.
Productivity, which temporarily took a hit, has nearly rebounded. But more importantly, Neundorfer said, employee satisfaction is higher. Many report feeling recharged after their three-day weekends.
“You don’t end up dreading going into work the next day as much. Or if you do get a bit burnt out, it’s not nearly as bad a five-day, eight-hours, 10-hours,” said Millie Bole, who was hired at Advanced RV after the transition to four-day work weeks.
Aldoory said the naysayers among his coworkers have changed their tune. He believes the quality of work has improved.
“People are just more relaxed, they’re more ready to come to work. And when you can work like that, you really can get more done and do better work,” he said.
Neundorfer acknowledges Advanced RV is likely better suited for a four-day week than other workplaces where the model might not fit.
“I think it could work, but I’m not naive enough to think everything’s the same,” he said.
He said the company, which employs around 50 workers, fosters an open dialogue with employees. Neundorfer and his wife are also the sole owners, so they alone assumed the risks of the trial without the approval other companies may require from shareholders.
Some employees think the model could find success in other workplaces or even expanded.
Aldoory laughed, “If four days was an improvement, why wouldn’t three days be?”
According to 4 Day Week Global, the trial was successful across the board. Of the 41 U.S. and Canadian companies and manufacturers that participated in the six-month trial, none have reverted to a 40-hour, five-day work week.
