IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Following the pandemic, more businesses are putting work-life balance at the forefront and are adopting four-day, 32-hour workweeks.

Four Day Week Global is a nonprofit out of New Zealand, launched with the purpose of researching how four-day workweeks impact companies. In its six-month pilot program in 2022, 27 businesses across the world participated and reported back about how the experience went.

All of the companies said they would continue, or consider continuing, the four-day workweek and none said they would not continue. The businesses also reported an 8% increase in revenue during the pilot. 

Businesses local to the area are also piloting and adopting the four-day, 32-hour workweek model.

Purple Heart Homes is a nonprofit committed to providing housing and employment opportunities to veterans. The CEO, John Gallina, said productivity rose during their pilot program, so they adopted 32-hour workweeks full time. 

"What we found was, the number of breaks that people were taking changed. The intensity of work changed," Gallina said. "The entire team said, 'We value this, let's make the most out of it.' We've got a lot of veterans to help and we love our mission, but we also love our time with our family too."

Now, everyone at Purple Heart Homes works Monday through Thursday, with an on-call person to answer the phones on Friday in case a veteran needs resources.

Kerry Lawing is the chief programs officer, and came up with the idea to test the program out. 

"It's a dramatic difference because they do have a better work-life balance," said Lawing. "We have a healthy staff because they're not skipping those doctor's appointments, they're going to them. And, it's made a world of difference."