Philly's Push 4 Fridays Back

Philadelphia is a city that prides itself on grit — the kind of place where people work hard, stay late and keep the lights on. But what if the future of that grit isn’t about working more, but working less? 

What if the next major labor innovation doesn’t come from Silicon Valley or Washington, D.C., but from right here — a city of students, startups and civic experimenters? What if the spark came from one software developer who simply asked his boss for Fridays off?

“I started working a four-day week in June of 2023, and I was more productive at work. I had more energy outside of work to do other stuff.”

That developer is Julian Plotnick, founder of 4 Day Philly, and he believes Philadelphia can become the first major U.S. city to embrace a 32‑hour workweek. Not as a European-style social policy, but as a competitive and economic strategy.

Plotnick’s story begins quietly: a negotiated four‑day week at his tech job. No grand theory, no political agenda; just a simple question — ‘could I do the same work in less time?’ 

For Plotnick, the answer was yes.

By January 2024, his idea had grown into a mission. “For New Year’s in 2024 I was like, ‘I’m gonna try to get Philly a four-day work week,’ without really any thought about how to do that,” Plotnick said.

Then came the moment that pushed the idea into the public eye. When Mayor Cherelle Parker announced a five‑day in‑office mandate for city workers, Plotnick responded to a Reddit thread, and the Philadelphia Inquirer noticed.

“Reporters from the Inquirer put out something on Reddit,” Plotnick said. “I responded and got news coverage three months after I started talking about this, and I was like, ‘Oh, I should figure out a more structured way to get awareness around this,’ so that’s when I started 4 Day Philly as a brand.” 

Just like that, a casual comment became a citywide conversation.

Plotnick’s approach is not ideological: it centers on Philadelphia’s economic future, rather than European work-life balance or political slogans.

Plotnick spends his time in boardrooms, conferences, business breakfasts and Chamber of Commerce events — anywhere decision‑makers gather. “Basically, I go into every space I can in Philly and talk about how a four-day week aligns with the agenda of whatever group I’m with,” he stated.

The pitch is simple:

• A four‑day week attracts and retains young talent

• It encourages people to spend more time — and money — in the city

• It positions Philadelphia as a modern and competitive region

  
  

Pennsylvania has a bill (PA House Bill 884) which, if passed, would give tax breaks to companies adopting a 32‑hour week without cutting pay. But — it only applies to companies with 30+ employees.

The state employee resolution introduced by state Rep. Chris Rabb is a resolution urging a cost-benefit analysis for state workers. It is now stalled.

Meanwhile, the new artificial intelligence (AI)-linked legislation is emerging, which is where this movement gets interesting. Plotnick is crafting legislation that ties four‑day week adoption to state-funded AI training for employees: “What I want to do is legislation incentivizing companies to switch to a four day week by offering AI training to their employees … if you shift to a four-day, we’ll train your employees to be more efficient.” 

Why AI? Because it’s bipartisan. “AI is kind of the only thing that gets bipartisan agreement at the state level,” Plotnick said. “It seems worth trying to craft something around that, because it’s impossible to find stuff they agree on.” This is the political wedge that could make a four‑day week viable in Pennsylvania. AI is the wildcard. It can free time — or create risk.

During my time discussing these points with Plotnick, I raised concerns about security breaches, over-reliance, declining quality and generic outputs. Plotnick acknowledged the risks, yet pointed to real data. In March 2024, Pennsylvania ran a pilot with OpenAI for state workers.

“The state ran a pilot with OpenAI. They found that it saved them an average of 95 minutes a day, which is conveniently exactly what you need to drop to a 32-and-a-half hour week.” 

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s framing is clear: PA representatives are trying to make the argument that AI should be a tool for workers and not a replacement.

The question becomes: What do we do with the time AI saves? More work? Fewer jobs? Or shorter weeks? Philadelphia has a chance to answer that.

Gen Z students are the future. They are already using AI. They care deeply about work‑life balance. And businesses want them. Plotnick expected generational divides, and he found none.

“I kind of assumed young people would agree with a four-day work week and older people would say no, but support has been pretty universal. When I talk to retirees, they say, ‘I wish that had happened before,’ and mid-career people say the same,” Plotnick said.

When it comes to the younger generation, Plotnick is optimistic. Philadelphia is a college city. Students can move this conversation.  

With that in mind, Plotnick believes, “I personally would love to see young people get involved with activism around the issue … obviously schools have all sorts of clubs and things that it would make sense to be pushing,” he said. Plotnick, a Drexel University alum, sees co-ops as the perfect testing ground. “If a company [hires] a co-op for 32 hours a week, they can pay a higher hourly rate and get the same overall deal. If I was a student and saw ‘this job pays the most per hour and gives me a three day weekend,’ I would do that one.”

Companies get the same total labor cost, students get higher hourly pay and everyone gets a three-day weekend. This could be Philadelphia’s first real pilot.

However, a four‑day week still raises hard questions:

• Will hourly workers benefit?

• What about first-responders or frontline workers?

• Could this widen racial or socioeconomic gaps?

• How do we ensure protection?

  
  

Philadelphia must confront these questions early, and not after implementation.

Philadelphia has a chance to define the future of work in America. If AI can free up time, students want greater work-life balance, businesses want to attract talent and research continues to show steady productivity, what is Philadelphia waiting for?

The question now is not whether a four‑day week is possible. It’s whether Philadelphia will choose to lead.

Written by: Claire Herquet