by Lauren Jessop
Four-day workweeks may boost Pennsylvania’s recruitment and retention of young workers – or at least some lawmakers would like to find out.
A new proposal offered in the House creates a pilot program for interested employers to transition their staff to a 32-hour weekly schedule – without a reduction in pay or benefits. In turn, qualifying employers would receive a tax credit.
The sponsors – Reps. Dave Madsen, D-Steelton; Chris Pielli, D-West Chester; and Joshua Siegel, D-Allentown – said studies show a reduced workweek “positively impacts an employee’s mental health, work-life balance, and physical wellbeing, all without negatively impacting a business’ productivity and revenue.”
“Our economy must change and innovate to current economic conditions in order to continue to succeed,” Pielli told The Center Square. He said he was drawn to the possibilities after reading the “surprising results” of a pilot program conducted in the U.K. by 4 Day Workweek Global.
The program included 3,300 workers – resulting in positive outcomes for both employees and workers. Participating companies’ revenues rose by more than a third compared to a similar period in previous reporting cycles, while resignations, sick days, and overall stress levels decreased.
Pielli said that 92% of participating companies committed to continuing with the four-day workweek business model.
To qualify for a tax credit, Pennsylvania employers would need to transition a minimum of 30 and maximum of 50 employees to a four-day workweek for at least one year. They must also agree to provide feedback through required surveys or reports as requested by the Department of Labor and Industry.
Qualifying employers would receive a tax credit of $5,000 per employee, not to exceed $250,000 – with a total appropriation of $15 million per fiscal year.
Madsen told The Center Square their interest in the program is an attempt to address the ‘brain drain’ that Pennsylvania is experiencing, particularly with younger workers. After the investment made in the state’s higher education system, many students leave to live and work elsewhere, he said.
Madsen said he doesn’t know if a four-day workweek will be a silver bullet, but it could be part of a larger package to recruit and retain younger workers.
In his prior line of work with the AFL-CIO, and engaging with Gen Z workers, Madsen said it wasn’t always about wages and benefits. Instead, he said, a consistent theme and important factor for them was work-life balance.
“What I like about doing it as a study – it’s really just to take a small sample size,” he said. “To see if this works for Pennsylvania businesses and workers.”
Madsen wants the study to include industries of all types – “not just knowledge workers, or white-collar workers, but blue-collar folks as well.”
“All we are asking, to conduct a similar, volunteer based pilot program and let the results speak for themselves,” Pielli said. “We have a pressing employment problem and our jobs as legislators is to seek viable solutions. That is what we are doing here.”
Democratic House representatives in Massachusetts have recently introduced a similar bill.
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Lauren Jessop is a contributor to The Center Square.
