For the best in HR policies, try . . . Chick-fil-A?

Lately, we have been grappling with how to recruit, retain, and keep employees engaged. We have been focusing on where work should take place—at home, at the office, or at some hybrid thereof. We also have placed renewed attention on the substance of the job and whether employees are aligned with the mission. But it may well be the key issue is how many days a week an employee must work.

Is traditional workweek outdated?

The regulations in most of the country focus on the 40-hour maximum workweek, but less attention is paid to how those 40 hours are broken up. In California, absent a special kind of working unit, you must pay overtime for any hours worked above 40 hours in a workweek—about eight hours a day. So, absent a highly regulated form of employee selection process, an employer that doesn’t want to pay overtime is limited to employees working an eight-hour day. Therefore, a full-time job requires five days a week. Only after a complicated election on a unit-wide basis may employees select a workweek of four 10-hour days.

My personal preference would be to get my full-time job done in three days. My dream schedule is working three days a week—early morning to late night—putting in almost 14 hours a day, including lunch. I would love four full days to take a mini vacation every week. Without paying a premium for overtime, that schedule is unlawful in California under any circumstances, even if the employer and the employee both prefer it that way.