According to National Public Radio correspondent Tovia Smith, I am writing this during “back-to-work March”. With the drop in new Covid-19 cases and vaccination rates in the Northeast at 65% or above, many businesses are summoning their employees back full-time to offices that have sat empty for nearly two years. Not everyone is happy about returning to the old grind, however. Many of us have gotten used to having more control of our daily lives, which spending fewer hours at work affords us. Having more time to spend with family, to exercise, meal prep, or enjoy hobbies, has helped to off-set the heartbreak and upheaval of this pandemic. As a consequence, we may have gotten used to scheduling daytime necessities, such as bringing a pet to the veterinarian or having our car serviced, without having to request time off. And life is simply fuller when we have more freedom to enjoy our cultural riches, such as libraries, parks and—yes—museums.

The benefits of returning to in-person work are well understood. Loneliness, lethargy, and dissatisfaction can be significantly lowered when we engage our social nature and increase physical activity. Employers cite increased production, general morale boost, and reestablishment of essential mentorships as benefits of face-to-face teamwork. For customer-forward industries, having staff on site means having the ability to manage the foot traffic and demands of a public on whom they depend. This is true for cultural sites as well, many of which rely on supervised visitation to keep the doors open and the staff paid.

A range of alternatives to the traditional workweek have been implemented in recent years by small-to-large businesses and municipalities. The most common one is flex time, where employees have a combination of off-site and on-site workdays. Often a common day is required when the full team is together, and staff can choose to stay home on other days. Another strategy is to work four, ten-hour days and have a three-day weekend. Some commuters mention the benefits of avoiding rush hour by leaving earlier or returning later, along with the ability to work when the office is quieter. Forcing a compressed schedule can also backfire for both parties involved, however, leading to fatigue, decreased productivity, and even legal ramifications. A growing number of workers are quitting their jobs if required to spend five days in the office, the flip side of which is that employers may incentivize their staff with flexible schedules.

Well-published studies from New Zealand, Japan, Spain, and the Netherlands show that another approach is being taken to reinventing the workweek—a full-time, 32-hour weekly schedule. This seemingly radical departure from the 40-hour workweek famously implemented by the Ford Motor Company nearly 100 years ago begs the following question: how many hours are we really working? As the owner of a small museum-consulting business and a staff supervisor, I experience first hand the ebb and flow of productivity throughout the day. I may adjust to this by letting my staff leave early, or increasing pressure at key times, depending on the workload. So, when my senior staff member approached me in July of 2021 requesting a full-time, 32-hour workweek, I was open to the discussion.

After quarantine ended in June, 2020, life and work did not return to normal just because we were allowed to return to our place of business. Being on furlough for 3 months brought a realization that we had grown accustomed to physical and emotional exhaustion before the pandemic. Therefore, my team and I returned initially on a part-time, 3-day weekly schedule that became a full-time, 5-day weekly schedule after two weeks. Although the workload was there, we were struggling to maintain focus and balance while still living with restrictions and every-day Covid-19 concerns. By July, we took the leap of faith that we could return to profitability working just 4 days at our full-time salaries. I am grateful to my PPP Loan (Paycheck Protection Program) for helping with this transition, after spending down our cash reserves during quarantine.

Every team will have their own strategy to fulfill weekly goals working only 4 days. Ours centered around the following:

• Starting every Monday with a short meeting to go over the calendar of projects, writing, and client meetings taking place that week
• Revisiting allocation of responsibilities according to individual strengths and goals, rather than seniority or perceived authority
• Checking in with each other earlier, rather than struggling first to find answers by ourselves
• Minimizing device time outside of breaks
• Making new rules about what we were physically willing to do, and passing along the cost of art moving and professional packing to our clients

We eventually found that working the same four days each week was the best formula for our team. Others will choose instead to keep their site staffed every day by staggering schedules. We have been surprised by the lack of pushback from clients who were only available for appointments on Fridays. This was balanced out by their increased openness to shipping their objects to our conservation studio rather than having face-to-face visits. For those who did visit our site, we held shorter meetings at a table in our foyer and did not permit outsiders into our workspace. That idea was so good that it is now our permanent procedure. I may still take the odd appointment on Fridays, and I prefer to leave some of my professional activities (like writing) to a quieter day.

Let’s be honest. Working in the humanities can be a 24-hour-a-day job in which we are constantly learning, thinking, and planning. Any way you look at it, the demands of alternately standing or sitting all day, working with heavy objects and equipment, being exposed to mildew, dust, and chemicals, or managing groups of excited children around irreplaceable cultural assets is tough work. Many of us entered the museum field because we associate museums with joy and wonder, often shared with family and friends on special occasions or while traveling. A full-time museum job may require years of study, volunteering, and working multiple part-time gigs in pursuit of our professional goals. Our passion sustains us even when we may be exploited for it, with low pay, poor benefits, and too many responsibilities.

The reality of the 32-hour workweek is anything but simple. Implementing it across the boards requires careful planning. If employees are not all working the same number of hours at full-time pay, resentment can grow. Policy decisions, such as whether overtime pay is given when staff are asked to work more than their 32 hours, must be made carefully. Getting the same amount of work done in less time requires focus and discipline on the part of both the worker and the supervisor. In my case, I have decided that a four-day workweek is an investment in the longevity and happiness of me and my employees. It is not how much we accomplish, but for how long we are able to continue doing the work we love.

Looking out my studio window, the once-deserted MBTA parking lot remains more than half empty. Where are these commuters and when, if ever, will we return to the conventional nine-to-five workday? I, for one, don’t plan to.

Sources

Duff, Colin. “Why You Should Try a 4-Day Workweek (+ How to Pitch It).” Owl Labs Blog

Fontinelle, Amy. “The Impact of Working a 4-Day Week.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 25 Jan. 2022.

Harrington, Caitlin. “The 4-Day Week Is Flawed. Workers Still Want It.” Wired, Conde Nast, 3 Feb. 2022.

Caldwell, Dave. “Poll: Employees May Quit Rather than Return to the Office.” WFS.

Smith, Tovia. “Returning to the Office, a Moment of Joy for Some. Others, Would Rather Stay Home.” NPR, NPR, 8 Mar. 2022.

“U.S. COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: See Your State's Progress.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Ward, Marguerite, and Shana Lebowitz. “More Leaders Are Scrapping the 40-Hour Workweek. Here's How It Became so Popular in the First Place.” Business Insider, Insider, 12 Jan. 2022.

 Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash