What is a 40-hour workweek?

A 40-hour workweek typically involves working eight hours per day, five days a week. This is typically a Monday through Friday schedule, with employee shifts starting around 9am and ending at around 5pm. However, the company’s regular business hours may vary, such as starting at 8am and ending at 4pm.

Is the 40-hour workweek still the standard?

While the 40-hour workweek is still common in many industries, some employers have adopted more flexible arrangements to support employee wellbeing and help improve retention. 

One example is the reduced workweek, with 32-hour weeks or four-day models. Another is flexible scheduling, where employees can start and finish earlier or later. In roles where constant availability isn’t necessary, flexibility or reduced hours can often support a better work-life balance and help you attract top talent.

Your business might benefit from exploring an alternative schedule to the 40-hour workweek if:

• You’d like to encourage loyal workers who stay with your company long-term.
• You can meet customer demand outside a standard schedule.
• Autonomy and flexibility are part of your company culture.
• Your company’s work doesn’t require an office or a regulated external setting, such as a construction site or at a client’s site.

Consider your industry, company resources and client expectations when deciding what works best. Before changing from the standard workweek, you might also assess the local labor laws around flexible work arrangements. 

Pros and cons of a standardized 9-to-5 schedule

A traditional 9-to-5 schedule provides structure and consistency, but it might not be the right fit for every business’s needs. 

Pros:

• Helps employees maintain a routine: Employees who work 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, know what to expect every week and can potentially better organize their personal commitments.  
• Promotes accountability: Workers know they have to arrive at a specific time each day and finish their work by a particular time. Standard start and finish times can also make it easier for managers to track attendance and schedule meetings. 
• Simplifies onboarding communication: New hires may benefit from predictable schedules when learning workflows and meeting colleagues.
• Establishes good communication: Having a set work schedule for employees may help promote good communication within your workplace. Not having staggered start times can simplify teamwork and make it easier to collaborate and ask questions.

Cons:

• Impact on work-life balance: Employees may feel that always starting at 9am and finishing at 5pm, or any similarly fixed 40-hour schedule, makes it challenging to manage non-work responsibilities. 
• Reduced productivity: Long, fixed hours don’t always translate to high productivity during these periods. Employees who have more autonomy may find it easier to stay engaged and meet performance expectations. 
• Limited responsiveness to change: When schedules are rigid, workers may be unable to quickly shift priorities or cover unexpected absences. 

Alternative schedules to the 40-hour workweek

You might offer a different schedule to the 40-hour workweek if a more flexible option suits your team better. Common alternatives include flextime, hybrid work, remote work and compressed weeks. 

Flextime

Flextime allows employees to choose their start and end times while still working a full 40-hour week. You might request they work eight-hour days, but allow them to decide which hours they work. For example, an employee may work from 7am to 3pm, 8:30am to 4:30pm or 10am to 6pm. To make sure everyone’s present for meetings, training and collaborative work, you might set core hours, such as 11am to 3pm.

Flextime generally works well for roles that don’t require constant coverage from all employees. It gives workers autonomy while maintaining structure and predictability. 

Hybrid work

Hybrid work is a flexible work arrangement where employees work from home (WFH) for part of their workweek and at the office for the remaining days. This model has become popular for roles that don’t always require a physical presence, such as positions in marketing or publishing. Other industries may not be well-suited for hybrid work, such as hospitality or healthcare roles.

Remote work

Remote work is when employees complete their work from home or another location. It’s generally ideal for employees working in autonomous roles that don’t require in-person presence, such as digital marketing or IT. However, it can also come with added expenses, such as portable devices, cybersecurity measures and software licenses. 

You may need to implement clear policies around remote work to ensure employees understand your expectations, such as hours required to be online and available.

9/80 schedule

A 9/80 schedule allows employees to work 80 hours over nine days instead of 10, giving them an extra day off every two weeks while still maintaining full-time status.

There are a few ways you can structure a 9/80 schedule:

• Work five nine-hour days one week, and four nine-hour days the next
• Work 4.5 days every week, depending on department needs
• Work four 10-hour days with one weekday off every week, rotating as needed

It gives employees more time off without reducing their hours. However, longer days may be tiring for some employees, and you may need to make adjustments to meet customer or client needs.

Annualized hours

An annualized hours system combines a flextime schedule and a compressed 9/80 schedule. In this arrangement, employees choose the maximum number of hours worked each year. It can allow people to work more hours at certain times to later take extra vacation time.

Pros and cons of flexible working hours

Before offering flexible work schedules, consider the benefits and disadvantages:

Pros:

• Improve employee morale: Alternative work schedules may help boost employee morale and overall job satisfaction by allowing employees to work in a way that aligns with their needs. For example, if you allow an employee with a long commute to telecommute two to three days a week, they might experience less stress and be more energetic when they work in the office.
• More appealing to talented candidates: Modern trends have made alternative schedules more popular, making it a useful approach for attracting and retaining talent that prefers this work style.
• Promotes better productivity: For some employees, alternative schedules could enhance their productivity levels. Some employees may do their best work during morning hours. Those who prefer to sleep in could work a later shift.

Cons:

• Limits interactions with employees: If you allow employees to arrive earlier or later or work from home, it might require more intention to build strong professional relationships and promote company culture, such as investing time for weekly one-on-ones or hosting virtual team activities. 
• Impacts workplace communication: Flexible work schedules might disrupt your company’s communication process. Sending out important information, getting signatures or arranging important office meetings may require more planning and time.

As more employers implement alternative work schedules, you might consider how this model can attract talent for your company. However, before deciding what’s right for your business, you can compare the benefits to the costs.