. >> reporter: c.e.o. ryan and his wife jill decided to work 4-day work weeks while launching a tech start up in 2004. when they began tree house in tradition. >> if everyone says you can't work less, let's prove them wrong and see if it's possible. >> turns out it is. >> we found a huge correlation between working less and being more efficient. makes sense. an idea of if i constrain myself to what i need to get done. there's a huge increase in productivity. >> we do know that a workforce that is on shorter hours and with flexible arrangements tendses to be happier, more loyal, and more stable and all those thinks tend to be good for lij. >> reporter: worldwide countries that work shorter hours tend to have higher productivity. take for example the g7 countries, germans work less, but are one of the most productive. with an average g.p. per hour that is 30% higher than italy and japan, among the hardest working countries in the g7. that tells you that it cannot predict that an economy will be stronger, because