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The four-day workweek (sorry, not four-hour): I have been toying with the concept of work-life balance. I want to structure more freedom into my life and my team's lives. But what does it mean and how can it be implemented? One way is a four-day workweek.
As an employer is it possible to maintain our productivity and value creation for our clients? Will it be taken advantage of? Is it too much to ask for four 10 hour days vs. five 8 hour days? Or is it four 9 hour days with that extra hour as an employment differentiator? This shift doesn't come without a lot of trade-offs, consequences, and potential benefits.
In short - I believe it is possible to flourish with a four-day workweek and I aim to move our company towards this.
Supporting this decision is a burgeoning movement of not employees - but employers who are embracing this new format. And it is not just the 'over financed - high on cool - low on productivity' tech sector startups that are pioneering this. It is conventional businesses that we'd never think twice about.
What are my next steps:
- More research and then a trial.
- Setting a clear policy of what 'four-day' means. For example, there will be circumstances that we need to put the time in on a Friday.
- Interviewing a group that has been leading the four-day workweek movement. Stay tuned for that interview!
My mission here is to have more balance and freedom, but I regularly remind myself that freedom does not come free. We have to work hard for it. How many days we work hard for it is up for debate.
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