NPR.

This is the Indicated From Planet Money, I'm Paddy Hirsch.

And I'm Whalen Wong.

Americans have been working a five day week with a two day weekend since as far back as

1908.

That's when a million New England decided to give its workers two days off, to allow both

its Jewish and Christian workers to observe their respective days of worship.

And ever since then, the five day week has been under siege.

In 1928, the economist John Maynard Keynes declared that technological advancement would

bring the workweek down to 15 hours within a century.

A Senate subcommittee doubled down in 1965, predicting we'd only be working 14 hours by the year

2000.

The five day workweek has weathered all of this, but thanks to the radical changes and

workplace routines brought by the pandemic, it's beginning to look increasingly threatened.

Because a slew of studies have been examining the viability of a four day workweek in Iceland,

New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Spain, and even the United Kingdom, which as you may remember

from a recent indicator episode, has been struggling with productivity for decades.

So on today's show, the four day workweek, it's being touted as the key to greater happiness,

better health and enhanced productivity.

It's like a little blue pill for the economy.

Exactly.

Is it all it's cracked up to be? We'll take a look at it after the break.

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