40% of Companies Have Adopted the Four-Day Workweek as the New Standard, According to an EY Survey

Despite a cooling economy, rising mortgage rates and mass layoffs, executives still demand expanded office presence and increased flexibility for office workers, according to a new report from Ernst and Young (EY).

The consulting firm EY released its second annual Future Workplace Index on Wednesday. The index showed a growing appetite for hybrid work, with more people utilizing flexible working options and a four-day workweek.

According to a survey by EY, 40% of companies have either implemented or are in the process of implementing a four-day workweek. This approach, which is popular in many other countries, is only now beginning to be adopted in the United States.

The survey showed that hybrid work has increased significantly from 2021, with 70% of employers surveyed adopting a hybrid approach which has employees working from home two to three days a week. This is a marked increase from previous years, and indicates that more and more employers are seeing the benefits of hybrid work arrangements.

EY has claimed that the four-day workweek and the growth of a hybrid workforce are both part of a shifting landscape in real estate management for corporate leaders. EY partner Mark Grinis said in a press release that the economic downturn will force leaders to make important decisions regarding their real estate portfolios, from investments and space optimization to workforce models.

According to a recent survey, many employers are investing in improving employee quality of life. 46% of surveyed employers plan to introduce in-office baristas, and a third plan to implement or extend their childcare options. These changes come after the Covid-19 pandemic left many employees feeling bruised and led to an uptick in resignations across sectors. The survey found that surveyed companies have begun to invest in in-office amenities to boost return-to-office rates and employee retention.

The EY report comes as layoffs are occurring across all industries, but especially in the tech sector. Companies like Meta, Amazon, and Twitter have all announced plans to reduce their workforce by thousands of employees. Even Google parent company Alphabet is feeling the pressure, with an activist investor demanding that CEO Sundar Pichai cut the company's headcount and expenses.

Although the EY survey found that only a third of executives plan to reduce investment in commercial real estate, over half of those surveyed still plan to improve or expand their portfolios. This shows that despite some uncertainty in the market, many businesses are still confident in the potential of commercial real estate.

Elon Musk is taking a different approach from the executives surveyed by EY. He has criticized Twitter's catering expenses - which he says are $13 million a year in San Francisco alone - and has stopped providing free lunches for employees. Instead, he is telling them that they need to come back to the office.