Welcome to our weekly column in which a topic of interest, piece of news, relevant opinion, or general request for feedback is presented. We’ll offer the topic du jour and accompanying question, and you have the opportunity to respond with your thoughts.
Simply fill out the form below. A collection of each week’s responses will appear in the following week’s column. To view responses on our previous topics click here.
Publisher reserves the right to edit responses for clarity and publish online and/or in our print publications.
Please let us know your thoughts!
This week’s Feedback Friday topic is:
Four-Day Work Week
This week, State legislators have introduced a bill to the General Assembly to test the four-day work week model. The pilot program would incentivize companies to move to a four-day work week by offering up to $750,000 in tax breaks for organizations that transition a satisfactory number of employees to a four-day, 32-hour-a-week schedule without reducing salaries. The program would be run by the state Department of Labor and gather important data on the impact a reduced work week has on employees, their productivity, company efficiency, and bottom-line financials. The five-year program would be available to private and public employers with 30 or more employees. To earn a tax credit, a company would have to participate in the program for a year.
Though not new (former President Richard Nixon once predicted the four-day work week would happen in his lifetime), the idea has increasingly gained traction. Recently, several large-scale trials in Iceland, then in Belgium and the United Kingdom, have paved the way others to consider a similar model.
Maryland’s bill will have its first hearing this month.
What do you think about a four-day, 32-hour work week? Needed or not? Do you have concerns?
Please share your thoughts by filling out this form. Today’s responses—and all future Feedback Friday responses—will be published in our Monday newsletters after the weekend. AND, several responses from recent topics will appear in our upcoming print magazines!
