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(lively music)

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- Over the last few weeks,

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millions of people have
been forced to adapt

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to working from home.

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It's still unclear what
office life will look like,

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even after restrictions are lifted.

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With so much up in the air right now,

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it's perfect time to start to
rethink work life completely.

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Like how many days of the week
we actually spend working.

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Robert Yuen, CEO and co-founder

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of software company Monograph,

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swears by the idea of a four-day workweek.

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Monograph's employees have
been on four-day workweek

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since its founding in 2017.

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They've taken to calling
the extra day a mid-weekend,

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which allows workers time to rest,

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recuperate and come back
more focused than ever.

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While the gut reaction may be to assume

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that the extra day off for everyone

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would hurt the company's bottom line,

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studies and practical examples

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have disproved that notion.

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Last August in Japan,

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the local division of Microsoft decided

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to experiment with that idea.

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They gave every employee
five consecutive Fridays off.

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Sales per employee were up 40%

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over the previous August

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and there were some extra benefits.

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The number of pages printed

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was down 59% and the
electricity consumption

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was also down 23%.

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94% of employees were
happy with the program.

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They aren't the only ones.

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A trust management firm in New Zealand

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is reportedly making the change permanent

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after a trial period.

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While the city of Gothenburg in Sweden

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hasn't reduced its days,

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it recently mandated
a workday of six hours

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instead of eight,

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and reported no loss in productivity.

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If you think about it, it
starts to make more sense.

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Every technological advancement

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can really be seen as a tool
to maintain the same level

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of worker productivity in shorter

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and shorter amounts of time.

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And burned out workers will
obviously be less productive.

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What's more, the five-day
rule is kind of arbitrary.

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President Roosevelt signed
the 40-hour, five-day workweek

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into law in 1940.

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But before that, it was Henry Ford

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who played an instrumental role

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in bringing the five-day
workweek to America.

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In 1914 he mandated five
workdays for his employees,

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cut down from six.

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But before you start thinking of old Henry

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as a humanitarian who was concerned

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about his staff's well-being,
listen to his reasoning.

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If people needed to buy goods and services

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to keep the economy thriving,

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they needed time off to well, go shopping.

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Even for the most capital minded,

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the same logic can be applied today.

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Widespread extra time off

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may have real benefits for
the health of the economy

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as a whole and more importantly,

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the impact on mental health
could make all the difference

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in the lives of individual workers.

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(playful music)

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(lively music)

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(man grunting)

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(footsteps clanging)

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(man gasping)

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(broom banging)

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- Hey Ricky.

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(whooshing)
(train announcer mumbling)

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(door whooshing)

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Excuse me, excuse me, I'm sitting here.

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Hey guys, please let me off first.

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Let me off first, let me off first.

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(footsteps clanging)
(man sighing)

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Hey, sorry I'm two hours late,

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the subway was just like
insane this morning.

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Anybody come in on the F?

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- [Announcer] Stand clear of
the closing doors, please.

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(beeping)

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(birds tweeting)
(kid mumbling)