U.S. Workers Want 4-Day Workweek, Higher Pay

American workers are quitting in record numbers — 4.3 million in August, and another 4.4 million in September. Managers across industries are having trouble hiring, even as they raise wages and offer incentives.

Photo Insert: A blue collar worker in the US

But a new survey offers support for a not-so-radical but still uncommon solution, Allison Morrow reported for CNN Business: The four-day workweek.

Researchers at Jefferies asked Americans ages 22 to 35 who had quit their jobs recently what their former bosses could have done to persuade them to stay. Thirty-two percent said they would have stuck around if they'd been offered a four-day workweek.

That was the second-most-common answer, right behind the 43% who would have stayed for more money. The study also found 80% of respondents support a four-day workweek.

The idea is hardly new but has been gaining steam thanks to high levels of worker burnout in the wake of the pandemic.

Over the summer, US lawmaker Mark Takano of California introduced legislation that would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 — which codified the 40-hour model we now live with — to reduce the standard workweek to 32 hours.

Not just the rank-and-file: CEO turnover has also jumped, as overworked executives decide to shake up their careers, according to a study from recruiting firm Heidrick & Struggles.

"Our belief is that it will only accelerate going into next year as people have delayed their retirements," Jeff Sanders, a co-managing partner at the company, told Reuters.

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