Software engineer Julian Plotnick made a pitch to his company’s CEO last year: Let me work one less day per week, 32 hours total, without a cut in pay.

The answer was yes, and after six months of Plotnick testing it out, the Philadelphia consulting firm Metropolitan Acoustics is working on transitioning its entire 12-person staff to a four-day work week.

The idea of working fewer days and hours has been gaining traction in pockets of the corporate world. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, introduced a bill recently that would reduce the standard U.S. workweek to 32 hours over four days.

Bill Gates even suggested last year that artificial-intelligence technology may one day allow for a three-day work week.

As many employers continue to face a tight labor market and some try to get more workers to come to the office again, abridging the work week could be one way to woo talent. Those who have tried it say the decrease in hours has encouraged efficiency, leading to time-saving choices.

That’s what Metropolitan Acoustics founder and CEO Felicia Doggett saw after observing Plotnick’s six-month experiment. She has run her company with a five-day week since 1990, but she’s confident they can accomplish just as much in four days by shortening meetings and dedicating time to heads-down work.

“There’s enough wasted time during the work week. … (T)here’s definitely time we can cut out,” Doggett said.

Fridays off is a growing trend

A few other companies locally have been experimenting with a four-day work week, and dozens more across the globe.

In January, Philadelphia-based Insomnia Cookies started giving Fridays off to all 100 full-time corporate employees, citing mental health and work-life balance benefits. Chief marketing officer Tom Carusona told The Inquirer in February that feedback from employees has been positive and “productivity is doing great” since the change.

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