The pandemic forced many company leaders to think differently about how their companies operate. Some have reimagined work schedules by implementing four-day workweeks.

Among those companies is Topstep, a financial technology firm based in Chicago, which has offered an optional four-day workweek for its employees since 2020. Employees at the firm are still expected to work 40 hours per week.

“We surveyed our employees to find out what was really important to them, and they wanted to make sure that we’re having that work-life balance,” said Anne O’Donnell, head of human resources at Topstep.

Talks of a four-day workweek are once again heating up nationwide. A lawmaker in California has reintroduced a U.S. House bill that would make a 32-hour workweek the national standard. A bill in Maryland proposes tax incentives for companies that try out a four-day workweek.

Staffing, recruiting and culture firm LaSalle Network, based in Chicago, also tried a four-day workweek about 20 years ago. However, company leadership said it wasn’t a good fit for the business.

Jessica Schaeffer, vice president at LaSalle Network, said that employees working four-day workweeks might find themselves trying to cram work into those four days, which can cause more stress for employees.

She also said that with LaSalle Network being a service-based business, it means that clients might not be able to receive certain services when they need them under the four-day workweek model.

“In theory, it sounds great,” Schaeffer said. “Who doesn’t want to work four days a week? In practicality, it’s pretty difficult.”