How To Do More With Less

What would it look like if the world moved toward a four-day workweek?

The organization, 4 Day Week Global, dd a 6-month study of 900 employees across 33 U.S. and Irish businesses in 2022. The study was based on the 100–80–100 model: Employees received 100 percent of their pay for working 80 percent of the time at 100 percent of the productivity.

Participating employees rated the four-day workweek a 9.1 out of 10, claiming it reduced their burnout and fatigue. Businesses said revenue increased and that attracting and retaining talent was easier.

Yet acclimating to the new structure took some companies and employees several months. They struggled to figure out how to whittle down their hours yet still accomplish all tasks. More than one-third of employees saw their workload intensify.

Time magazine says 2023 could be the year of the four-day workweek. Maryland might pass a four-day workweek program that would run from mid-2023 through 2028, joining European governments that have tried it

In the opening shot of the music video for “Throw Some Ass,” the camera scans a clinical white sign: “Sofi Tukker Center for Asses That Don’t Move Good.” Inside the mock hospital, a heart monitor flatlines — until the beat drops. Suddenly, the music video erupts into a NSFW riot of sensual movement. To fans, the song is a catchy ode to booty shaking, but to Sophie Hawley-Weld, one half of electronic music duo Sofi Tukker, it was a revelation of her journey through chronic pain and the power of the mind.

In 2018, Sophie and Tucker Halpern were in the middle of a whirlwind year — releasing their first (later Grammy-nominated) album, launching their own record label, and headlining tours — when Sophie began to have chronic migraines.

“We were full-time touring … there was so much happening,” Sophie explained on the podcast Like Mind, Like Body. “We were going out five nights a week. We were traveling way crazier than we are now … Because our career was so new, we said yes to every opportunity, and it put our bodies through a strain. I didn’t do the simple things as well, like take a walk and go get sunlight, all these things I’ve learned how to do since this [pain]. So my body was really confused.”

For the next year and a half, Sophie endured debilitating chronic migraines that forced her to retreat to dark rooms. “I was having to cancel shows, and nothing was working.”

Later, back pain created a destructive cycle when traditional medical approaches failed. She tried every drug and treatment she could find, but they didn’t work. Doctors recommended cortisone injections for her back, which only intensified her fear and worsened her condition — a phenomenon well-documented in pain studies.