Is it time?
A four-day work week would be great for individuals, and for the entire economy, writes Amir Barnea in today’s Globe & Mail (February 9,2026, page B4). Canadians usually work forty hours a week, but a survey of five thousand employed people found that 39% felt burned out. Is it time for the whole country to adopt a four-day week? I think so.
The article mentions a software company which made the switch to a four-day week. The company owner thinks it’s difficult to get consistent good work out of her staff working the normal forty hours a week. She’s getting better results now, while her staff works 20% less. How does she know that her staff perform and feel better? She notices it in her own life.
Scientific proof
Juliet Schor has done the research, and here’s the proof that shorter work weeks are good: 90% of the companies that tried out the four-day week idea, kept it after the study ended!
The switch can be made, if companies sacrifice a little bit of their profits. And municipalities, which operate on budgets, not profits, are great places to start.
If you want to read more about it, see Juliet Schor’s book “Four days a week”. I put it in my Audible wish list.
4-day week in landscaping
Personally, I love four-day work weeks. It would be hard to go back to five days. My day-job company switched to four day work weeks two years ago by extending the four work days to nine hours. So we work 36 hour weeks, and get paid for forty. Now, that sounds generous, but there is travel time to consider. The company used to pay for travel time but now that’s over. It’s part of the remaining four hours we get paid for.
Now, having three days off is pure magic, especially when your job is outdoors all year and physically demanding. I believe my day-job boss gets good work out of his employees, but nine hours can be physically taxing. By Friday, some people desperately need the third day off.
The free Mondays can also be used for appointments and long weekend trips, which definitely improves people’s well-being. The Sunday night work anxiety is gone.
No burn out?
As for burn out, I can’t say that the shorter week solved my burn out problem because I work for myself on weekends and Mondays. I’m not bored, I have hobbies, and my body needs rest, but living in the Lower Mainland (British Columbia) is expensive.
To make it financially, I have to risk burn out by working more. But my life satisfaction is still higher. Being able to work for myself on Mondays means extra income. Crucially, most of the work is done on project basis, not by the hour. So I can squeeze more revenue out of every Monday. That makes me happy, and keeps my family far away from food banks.
Make the switch!
I think the whole country should switch to four-day weeks. It does improve work performance and life satisfaction.
There would be one other benefit: you could easily switch jobs. Right now, there is plenty of work for an experienced, certified landscape professional, but very few landscape companies work shorter weeks. That makes it hard to switch employers because I need the free Mondays to work for myself.
