WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Nearly one-third of large U.S.## firms are exploring new work# schedules for their employees.

Economics correspondent Paul Solman takes a look## at some companies that are trying out a# four-day, 32-hour week with the same pay.

PAUL SOLMAN: At Metro Caring in Denver,# the food pantry is crazy busy.

There## were 45,000 visits last year, not far off# the 47,000 at the start of the pandemic.

TEVA SIENICKI, CEO-Visionary, Metro Caring: I came# out of the pandemic just exhausted, frankly.

PAUL SOLMAN: CEO Teva Sienicki# felt overworked and overwhelmed.

TEVA SIENICKI: I worked far too many hours.# Hunger has been steadily growing.

I was really## feeling discouraged.

I just don't see us making# progress.

And so that landed really heavily on me.

PAUL SOLMAN: And on many of her co-workers.

TEVA SIENICKI: We were experiencing a# lot of burnout on staff, and feeling## like we were treading water around our mission.

PAUL SOLMAN: Cory Scrivner oversees# food procurement and distribution.

CORY SCRIVNER, Food Access Manager, Metro# Caring: We have had four different food## access managers in the last four# years.

It has 1000 percent been## a burnout factor with every single# one of the last three previous ones.

PAUL SOLMAN: In fact, Sienicki almost quit.

TEVA SIENICKI: Burnout among nonprofit# CEOs and nonprofit employees was higher## than any other industry.

Probably like four# out of 10 left the field.

I was nearly there.

PAUL SOLMAN: Instead, though,## she took a sabbatical .. TEVA SIENICKI: If you can have a more balanced## life and work fewer hours, you actually# bring more creativity to your job and you## bring more efficiency.

And those# hours that you do work mean more.

PAUL SOLMAN: Alex Pang has# written about working less,## runs research and innovation at# nonprofit four day week global.

ALEX SOOJUNG-KIM PANG, 4 Day Week Global:# If you're in an industry in which there## are serious challenges with recruitment# and retention, with work-life balance,## or if you have concerns about the# sustainability of your organization,## a four-day week is a great way to address# all of those challenges simultaneously.

PAUL SOLMAN: Hey, Bernie Sanders# thinks so.

He recently introduced## a Senate bill to reduce the# standard workweek to 32 hours.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): The sad# reality is Americans now work more## hours than the people of any other wealthy nation.

PAUL SOLMAN: Now, look, a shorter# workweek is hardly a new idea.

In## 1930, given ever-increasing output per# person, increasing productivity that is,## economist John Maynard Keynes foresaw# a 15-hour workweek in 100 years.

In 1956, vice President Richard# Nixon predicted a four-day workweek## in the -- quote -- "not-too-distant# future."

That future is yet to arrive,## but thanks perhaps to COVID,# companies have begun to shift.

ALEX SOOJUNG-KIM PANG: The pandemic had forced a# lot of companies to change how they had worked,## and so they were more open to the# idea of playing around with work time.

PAUL SOLMAN: As were workers.

NICHOLAS BLOOM, Stanford University:# We all realize our own.. PAUL SOLMAN: Stanford's Nicholas Bloom.

NICHOLAS BLOOM: More than a million Americans# have died.

You should en.. here.

Work from home has been such a# bonanza.

So, I have taught hundreds,## thousands of managers, employees.

And they're# kind of like, why didn't we do this earlier?

And so as soon as you start thinking like# that, you think, well, what else is there?## And other things like the four-day week,# the whole bunch of changes come into play.

PAUL SOLMAN: Metro Caring's pilot began# in late summer.

The staff worked Monday## through Thursday, took Fridays# off, 32 hours of work, same pay.

TEVA SIENICKI: There's definitely# a learning curve, right?

Like,## it doesn't just like happen, like you're# just like, oh, I'm going to be efficient.

PAUL SOLMAN: To get their work# done in eight fewer hours,## employees turned off computer# alerts, reorganized their time.

TEVA SIENICKI: A lot of those have# been around meetings and e-mails,## not responding right away, but like# setting aside concentrated blocks,## and how to make meetings that are# normally an hour into 15 minutes.

PAUL SOLMAN: A shortened week# increases focus, says Graye Miller.

GRAYE MILLER (Food Access Assistant, Metro# Caring): If I have to be here Monday through## Friday, I am much more likely to# take that half-an-hour sitting and## drinking coffee or that 15 minutes# stepping outside for a cigarette.

PAUL SOLMAN: Integrity Pro Roofing# also tried a four-day week.

RAE BOYCE, CEO, Integrity Pro# Roofing: There are so many tangible,## tactical ways that you can give your team# back that additional eight hours of time.

PAUL SOLMAN: CEO Rae Boyce says her staff# focused on tasks and projects in the morning,## when they were more energized,# pushing meetings to the afternoon.

ALEX SOOJUNG-KIM PANG: The average knowledge# worker loses about two hours of productive time## per day to overly long meetings, to poorly# used technology or outmoded processes.

So,## in a sense, for a lot of us, the four-day# week is already here.

We're just spending## a full day in the office sitting# around in meetings wondering who's## going to change the toner cartridge or# talking about whatever football game.

PAUL SOLMAN: In surveys completed in# February at the end of Metro Caring's trial,## employees reported well-being had improved.# Pretrial, just 8 percent were highly or very## highly satisfied with their work-life balance.# At the end, that figure rose to 46 percent.

At the start of the pilot, 50 percent felt# burned out, by the end, half that number.

GRAYE MILLER: Having four days# and then a three-day weekend,## oh, my lord.

It is rejuvenating on all levels.

The results didn't surprise Pang.

His firm# helped run a 2022 trial of 61 British firms## that showed benefits to workers' health and# productivity when their hours were reduced.

ALEX SOOJUNG-KIM PANG: Mangers and companies also# reported that people were collaborating better,## that they were happier in the office.

All of the# important metrics trended in positive directions.

PAUL SOLMAN: Bloom has his doubts, though.

NICHOLAS BLOOM: Very productive,# well-managed American companies## that are already pretty kick ass in terms# of how well-managed they are, these places## are very efficient.

It's not that easy to# take a day out and produce the same amount.

PAUL SOLMAN: At Integrity Pro Roofing, a strictly# four-day workweek did not work year-round.

RAE BOYCE: Roofing and construction# tends to be very seasonal.

PAUL SOLMAN: So employees now work# fewer hours during the off-season, but: RAE BOYCE: The summer and the fall is# our busiest season.

And so we have found## that there are times where we do need to# ask our team to be flexible and to come## back to a five-day workweek when we're# experiencing that type of a high volume.

PAUL SOLMAN: Still, Boyce remains# committed to a shorter week for## her employees the rest of the year.

RAE BOYCE: Time is our most precious resource.

We# have a really short life.

So if there's any ways## that we could give them some additional time,# that's really what we wanted to focus on.

PAUL SOLMAN: At Metro Caring, the four-day# workweek created some problems of its own.

CORY SCRIVNER: We rely on donations# and foundations and grant funding to## be able to exist in the way that we do.# And they don't have a four-day workweek.## They don't have a three-day weekend.# There are deadlines that are due on## Friday.

I often miss e-mails that# are important that come on Fridays.

We really do need to be available# for some of these bigger deadlines.

PAUL SOLMAN: As a result, CEO Sienicki# still has to put in hours on Fridays.

TEVA SIENICKI: I don't know that all of us# are two 32 hours yet.

I think some of us,## at least on some weeks, are at 35 hours.

But,## frankly, 35 hours is way better than the# 50 hours I was working prior to this trial.

PAUL SOLMAN: Metro Caring plans to# make the shorter workweek permanent,## even as they work out the details.

TEVA SIENICKI: It may not be exactly like# we have done the trial, right?

Maybe we## go to a 35-hour workweek, or maybe we# look at a little bit more flexibility.

PAUL SOLMAN: Different schedules, perhaps.

CORY SCRIVNER: Maybe it looks like one team# works a different set of days than another team.

PAUL SOLMAN: And that flexibility# may help with retention.

Cory Scrivner thinks she will last# longer than her three predecessors.

CORY SCRIVNER: I'm feeling# really good.

I'm not leaving.

(LAUGHTER) CORY SCRIVNER: I broke the curse.

PAUL SOLMAN: Scrivner bucked the burnout trend,# she says, thanks in part to the four-day workweek.

For the "PBS NewsHour," Paul Solman.