A CEO tried a four-day week—but stopped after employees were secretly working Fridays

When Austin-based workforce management company Safeguard Global piloted a four-day workweek in 2023, the goal was to improve recruitment and retention. After initially looking like a success, however, the experiment ran into problems. Some employees often worked late to preserve Friday as an off day. Others used Friday to secretly catch up on work. And some who strictly adhered to a four-day schedule felt like they were falling behind. It was “not the culture we wanted to creat...