As The New York Times reported, businesses such as Shake Shack, Kickstarter, and Unilever's New Zealand unit have all switched to the four-day workweek and all's well. Work gets done, staffers are happier than ever, and profits are up.
Tech companies are also getting into the act. I know, the stereotypical tech industry story is always about people living in the office, turning in 80+ hours of work per week, and having no life. Then, there's Bolt, an e-commerce unicorn.
Bolt CEO and founder Ryan Breslow recently tweeted that, "Bolt is now the first tech unicorn to permanently switch to a 4 day workweek. Our 3-month experiment proved every core thesis: Heightened 1/ Productivity, 2/ Engagement, and 3/ Wellness."
Why? Breslow continued: "Many companies are plagued with 'theater work'… i.e.: work designed to 'look' good versus actually moving the needle. Countless meetings, confusing presentations, constant banter. The worst! We reject theater work at Bolt."
Instead, he tweeted, it's not "about how work 'looks.' We care about the only thing that matters: The impact of 'Did you move the needle this week?'"
I couldn't agree more. Work should be all about getting the job done. Nothing else matters. If you can do that with a 32-hour workweek—and many of us can—then go for it.
It's not just big businesses. The New York Times also found online children's clothes retailer Primary is now moving permanently to a four-day workweek. The company's voluntary attrition rate has fallen slightly to 7% in the past year, even as workers quit jobs elsewhere at record levels in the 'Great Resignation.' With more people than ever leaving jobs behind—a record 4.5 million American workers in November—anything that keeps people where they are is a good thing.
A recent Gallup survey also found that "those working four-day weeks were found to have the highest rates of thriving and well-being (63%), compared with those working five (57%) or six days (56%)." Happy workers are productive workers.
Gallup also discovered that "workers want more flexibility and that job flexibility is correlated with higher employee engagement. Work flexibility allows employees to boost their overall well-being in other areas while still meeting the requirements of their job. It also lowers stress by allowing people to create a schedule that makes sense for their life." This is exactly what's happened with the rise of working from home.
Now, can everyone do this? Of course not. I can't. I've been working a 55-hour workweek for decades. I'm a journalist, and my work is tied to keeping on top of the news. And news never stops. But most of us aren't working at jobs where workaholism is a virtue. You might find that being married to the job is not all that good for your business or for you.
Sit down, take a long hard look at your business. Are you wasting time on endless meetings? Are your workers really getting their job done or just putting in meaningless hours? How are those hours actually improving your bottom line?
Talk to your employees. Then, give a 32-hour, four-days-per-week schedule a try. I'll bet many of you will find it works out well. Really. | | |
