Boss switches company to a four-day workweek with no pay cut and productivity stayed the same
Staff is 'loving it' and there's 'no way' the company is going back.

Co-workers high five because they have Friday off.
There are a lot of great benefits to companies adopting the four-day workweek. Studies show it can help employees, the bottom line and the environment. That’s why companies across the globe have been flirting with the idea to see if they can pull it off without jeopardizing productivity.
One of the most significant benefits of switching to the four-day workweek is that it increases the availability of talent because more people want to work for companies that give them a 72-hour weekend.
Companies with four-day workweeks often don’t see a loss in productivity because there is a tipping point where as employees work more hours, their productivity decreases because they suffer from burnout.
Andrew Barnes of 4 Day Week Global.
Finally, if four-day workweeks are widely adopted it would be great for combating climate change. A report by the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that a 10% reduction in work hours could result in “drops in ecological footprint, carbon footprint and carbon dioxide emissions by 12.1%, 14.6% and 4.2%, respectively.”
In 2018, businessman and founder of New Zealand trust company Perpetual Guardian Andrew Barnes created 4 Day Work Global, a nonprofit organization that studied the effects of taking an extra day off each week.
“We recognized well before the pandemic that the five-day week is no longer fit for purpose, and as we trialed and studied the four-day week it became clear that this is a necessary part of the solution to restore climate balance, among many other documented benefits,” Barnes told 7 News.
The results of 4 Day Work Global’s first trial were overwhelmingly positive. Forty-six percent of companies said productivity was the same, 34% reported a slight improvement and 15% said it was “significantly” better. Overall, 88% of companies said they are likely to continue the four-day workweek after the end of the trial.
Intrigued by 4 Day Work Global’s findings, Denis Moriarty, founder of Our Community, an Australian social enterprise, switched his company to a four-day workweek in August and he’s over the moon with the results.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, his staff is happier and still 100% productive.
via Unsplash
“They're loving it. They've got their lives back,” he told Daily Mail. “It's been good for the workplace, good for employees and the company. There is no way we will go back to five days.”
What’s interesting about the experiment is that the employees are paid the same amount to work 20% fewer hours and are just as productive. The company was able to accommodate the same work in less time by shortening its meetings and because the employees are better rested. Some companies that have switched to the four-day workweek have added more hours to the average day to even things out, but Moriarty won’t be doing that any time soon.
“I don't think you should be calling it a 4-day workweek if you cram more hours in those four days,” he said.
The five-day workweek has been the standard for most workers for around 100 years. Over that time, the work we do has changed drastically. So, isn’t it about time that we reevaluate our work habits as well?
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.