A serious conversation about a 4-day workweek will only really begin if there is public appetite for it. Is there?

Sign the petition on this page if you agree:

During this coronavirus pandemic, the United States government and U.S. employers should start considering the idea of a 4-day workweek and 3-day weekend.

This is a "testing the waters" petition. If it takes off, that is newsworthy -- and we will inform the media and lawmakers across the nation that public energy exists.

The Washington Post outlines several reasons a 4-day workweek policy could make sense:

• Some studies show workplace productivity and satisfaction go up under a shorter, more compressed schedule.
• One study in the U.K. last year found 64% of leaders of businesses with four-day workweeks saw an increase in staff productivity.
• That same study showed 77% of workers linked it to a better quality of life.
• One expert points out that 20% less commuting will "help save the environment" -- even if longer hours are just spread over fewer days.
• Another expert argued that "a four-day workweek could normalize a pattern in which people of all genders split their time more evenly between home and the workplace, removing an entrenched barrier to female professional advancement.