Early Career Insights: Making a Four-Day Workweek Work for You

Global research has shown that moving to a four-day workweek without decreasing pay improves employees’ happiness, health, and performance. In the largest study on the topic to date, which included workers across the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland, employees not only maintained productivity, but also cut their average workweeks down to around 34 hours over time without lowering their performance. During a six-month trial of a four-day workweek, employees experienced reduced burnout, increased job satisfaction, and improved mental and physical health.¹

Four-Day Workweeks in Equine Practice

Veterinary practices are increasingly adopting four-day workweeks to combat industry burnout and improve work-life balance. Clinics typically implement this by condensing the workweek into four 10-hour days, sometimes with a rotating schedule. In companion animal emergency facilities, three 12-hour shifts per team member are common. Data from a 2022 survey on Equine Practice Associate Compensation show that in the busiest quarter of the year, 25.3% of veterinary practices have four-day workweeks. In the least-busy quarter, 37.3% adopt this shortened schedule. As this option has become more widespread, early-career veterinarians are seeking practices that offer it.

In equine practice, with the potential for emergencies 24/7/365, a four-day workweek simply means veterinarians see scheduled elective appointments during those days but provide emergency care whenever they are on call. Some practices close their offices to all but urgent calls on Fridays, with the designated emergency doctor working over the three-day weekend. Other practices with multiple doctors split up the workweek so there are always several veterinarians on duty doing appointments. Although many people favor a three-day weekend, another popular schedule is having Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday off. This allows people to have a day in the middle of the week for family, personal appointments, or errands. Some parents prefer to work five shortened days so they can get home at an earlier hour.

Whether working a contiguous four-day week or breaking the week up into smaller segments, having an extra day away from work feels more manageable and less stressful to most practitioners. Solo practitioners frequently choose to work a shortened schedule of appointments three or four days a week and reserve one day for office work to catch up on practice management. Extending a four-day workweek to staff members is commonly recommended and has similar benefits.

Shortening the workweek rarely affects revenue production. While vets tend to fill extra time by slowing down and visiting with clients longer, we all tend to be more efficient when we have less time to waste. Having a full schedule on your working days can increase your focus and tighten your performance. In addition, the physical and mental break of a day off can increase your engagement, energy, and enthusiasm on the days you are working.

Final Thoughts

Four-day workweeks might become deciding factors for early-career veterinarians when choosing where to work, and practices that adapt are positioning themselves to attract and keep top talent. If your clinic is not already offering a four-day workweek, ask your practice leaders to consider a trial run. They might find the team performs better than expected while feeling more satisfied in their roles. This can translate to improved customer service, better medicine, and less turnover. That’s a win for everyone!

References

1. Fan W, Schor J, Kelly O, Gu G. Work time reduction via a 4-day workweek finds improvements in workers’ well-being. Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 9, October 2025, 2153-2168.

Related Reading

• Early Career Insights: Choosing the Associate Position That’s Right for You
• The Business of Practice: Veterinary Well-Being Study Results
• Affording New Paradigms in Equine Practice

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