Parkdale-High Park MPP tables bill to study four-day work week

QUEEN’S PARK — Bhutila Karpoche, MPP for Parkdale-High Park, will table her private member’s bill Monday calling for Ontario to establish a study on the four-day work week.

The bill seeks to establish the Four-Day Work Week Commission, which would develop recommendations for implementing a four-day work week pilot project in Ontario, to be established for one year for a section of the province’s workers.

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, worker burnout was all-too common, leading to poor physical and mental health outcomes for Ontarians and a lack of work-life balance,” Karpoche said. “Let’s take a look at what a four-day work week would mean for Ontarians health, quality of life, and our economy.”

Jurisdictions around the world including Iceland, Japan and New Zealand have adopted four-day work weeks on a pilot or permanent basis, with reports showing successful results for both workers and employers. Reported benefits have included greater gender equity and job productivity, higher workplace morale, and improved mental and physical health for workers.

“It’s time to recognize that workers can be trusted to get the job done well outside the traditional five-day work-week framework, and that employers and workers alike can benefit from greater work-life balance,” said Karpoche.

“Other communities who have tried this have seen benefits like better mental health, greater gender equity, more productivity and engagement, a lower carbon footprint, and better work-life balance for working parents. For those communities, a four-day work week was a win-win. Ontario workers deserve to have their government explore these potential benefits for them, too.”