A group of left-wing Capitol Hill staffers are calling on lawmakers to implement a 32-hour work week when Congress is out of session, claiming the policy will reduce burnout and increase employee retention.
The Congressional Progressive Staff Association (CPSA) — which describes itself as “an official congressional staff organization whose mission is to advance the interests of current and prospective progressive staffers” — drafted an open letter to be sent later Thursday that requests a reduced workweek, with the stated aim of “improv[ing] worker satisfaction, increas[ing] staff retention in Congress, and model[ing] a more sustainable approach to work on a national level,” according to the letter. The policy would establish a 32-hour work week for Capitol Hill staffers when Congress isn’t in session, as well as a 32-hour work week for district office employees when Congress is in session. (RELATED: Vivek Ramaswamy Says DOGE Plan For Gov’t Employees Has Bureaucrats ‘In Tears’)
“The intensive nature of these roles often causes staffers to seek new positions earlier than they would in a more predictable and sustainable work environment,” the CPSA letter states. “Given the cyclical nature of the schedule, we propose implementing a 32-hour workweek for D.C.-based staff during district work periods and a 32-hour workweek for district-based staff while in-session. Doing so — without a reduction in pay — would allow both D.C. and distinct staff to be fully available around the clock throughout more intensive periods when the Member is in town while allowing for a more sustainable schedule when workloads are more manageable.”
A 2023 Gallup study of 12,000 full-time employees found workers on a four-day schedule reported higher levels of burnout than their five-day counterparts, and did not have significantly higher levels of well-being, potentially because employees feel obligated to achieve the same amount of work in a shorter time period, leading to additional stress. Reduced workweeks are also largely unsuccessful for customer-facing businesses, according to a 2023 BBC report, which the constituent-facing job of a congressional staffer could qualify as.
32 hours a week?
Sure, pay the Hill Staffers as part-time employees.
Reduce their pay and benefits.
Let’s go @DOGE this is a perfect RIF! https://t.co/9Gk1v6ykd2— 𝐂𝐂 (@ChatByCC) January 16, 2025
In addition to requesting a 32-hour work week, the CPSA has voiced support for protests of the Israel-Hamas war on college campuses across the U.S., with a May press release from the group stating it “unequivocally stands alongside these nonviolent student protestors and their efforts to raise the alarm about the complicity of both their colleges and of the United States in the War on Gaza.” College campuses saw a surge in antisemitic sentiment amid the wave of protests, with a 2024 online study from Brandeis University of 20,000 young adult Jews indicating rates of hostility against Jews on U.S. campuses in 2023 were approximately twice that of 2016.
More broadly, the number of reported antisemitic hate crime offenses climbed to an all-time high in 2023, with the uptick largely coinciding with the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, according to FBI data.
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported a 2022 effort backed by the CPSA to allow staff in the House of Representatives to unionize, with the House passing a resolution in May granting the request.
“As congressional staff, we recognize our jobs come with the honor of public service and with working conditions that surpass what many Americans experience today,” the CPSA letter states. “We do not want a 32-hour workweek to just be another special benefit for Congressional staff: We hope that by adopting this policy, Members of Congress can help to advance the discussion around a more sustainable workweek as a national priority and model how it can work for private and public employers across the country and the world.”
The CPSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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