CELPIP Reading Part 4Reading for Viewpoints Practice

Design Cooperative Plans Four-Day Workweek Trial

Hawthorne Studio Cooperative is considering trialling a thirty-two-hour week at full pay for six months. The debate began after staff surveys linked frequent late revisions to exhaustion and preventable errors. Teams now work five days and often schedule internal meetings throughout their most productive hours. The decision would directly affect design employees, project managers, clients, and contract workers.

Dalia Moretti, a senior graphic designer, argues that fewer working hours would force the cooperative to protect concentrated creative time. Moretti points out that many meetings repeat information that could be documented while fatigue slows later revisions. “A shorter week will fail if five days of interruption are squeezed into four,” Moretti says, predicting that clearer priorities could improve work quality while giving employees genuine recovery time. Moretti's support is conditional because leaders cancel low-value meetings instead of simply increasing the pace of every day.

Frederick Lau, the cooperative’s client-services director, warns that a common closure day could leave clients without timely help during launches and production problems. Lau maintains that design deadlines are often shaped by printers, venues, and campaigns outside the cooperative’s control. “Our fifth day may be somebody else’s only day to solve a problem,” Lau says, warning that urgent revisions could fall to a small rotating group and make their week more demanding. As an alternative, Lau recommends staggering individual days off while retaining five-day client coverage.

Mirela Okafor, a contract illustrator, questions the claim that a salaried benefit could shift compressed deadlines onto contractors who are paid only for assigned work. Okafor emphasizes that external contributors often receive final requests after internal teams have completed their planning. “A humane schedule inside the studio should not create an invisible fifth day outside it,” Okafor says; Okafor recommends including contractor hours, revision notice, and payment delays in the trial measures because contractors might face rushed unpaid coordination unless their timelines are redesigned too. Okafor shares Moretti’s concern about workload design but extends Lau’s coverage issue beyond employees.

Graham Nadeau, the cooperative’s elected chair, has proposed a six-month staggered trial with meeting limits and protected contractor notice periods. The cooperative would track project quality, client response times, overtime, contractor hours, and employee recovery. Moretti welcomes the meeting limits, while Lau asks for minimum staffing on every weekday. Members will vote after project teams publish proposed coverage schedules.