4 Day Work Week: Regenerative Leadership or Band-aid Solution?

Abstract

This thesis aims to assess to which extent the phenomenon of the 4-day workweek can be considered a regenerative leadership initiative within a theoretical lens of Critical Management Studies and Hartmut Rosa's conceptual framework of Dynamic Stabilization and Social Acceleration with Resonance as a solution. The context of economic, technological, and cultural innovation and growth has with an escalatory tendency led modern society to destabilization with not only the ecological crisis but simultaneously also a psychological crisis of burnout and mental disorders, reinforcing the consequences. The volatile, ambiguous society calls for a new perspective on how organizations can not only sustain but regenerate the working life and its impact on our mental well-being. The 4-day workweek has seemingly improved the well-being of employees by giving back the right to time. However, this is done by the increase in productivity, efficiency, and output which raises the question of whether it’s the future of work or a superficial solution.

The methodological section elaborates on my critical theoretical approach to research and its limitations. The scientific theory of the thesis is hermeneutical which has guided the interpretation and theoretical analysis supported by six qualitative interviews with Danish associate professors and expert practitioners on the 4-day workweek.

The analysis reveals an overall liberation of time and a denaturalization of a long-hour working culture, but also the increase of high-performance demands while increasing the workload through technology, making the employees compromise on their restitution and social connections to get the extra day off. The 4-day workweek maintains the dynamic stabilization by accelerating work itself while facilitating de-acceleration outside of work. It appears to be a coping strategy to handle the escalating consequences more sustainably, still focusing on economic growth. There needs to be a proportional balance between restitution and workload, aligning with continued productivity acceleration over time. To assess the extent of regenerative leadership I’ve applied the spiral dynamics framework of consciousness, based on former conclusions, where the phenomenon proves to not fulfill the regenerative intent as it still operates within the dominant ideology that has caused the crisis in the first place, and therefore functioning as a superficial solution. However, a significant potential for regeneration is present due to greater opportunities for resonance outside work, contributing to a more meaningful life entirely, making time for reflexivity, self-awareness, and systemic orientation.