(Ilya Pozin)
 |
| ON OR BEFORE 31-5-2014 |
With the war for talent raging, company culture has become a battleground for many organizations. In order to attract the kind of top-notch candidates needed to move companies forward and stay competitive, companies now have to offer better perks to entice the best people. One of these perks is the four-day work week...and it seems like it might actually be more than a buzzy trend.
Currently, only about 36 percent of employers allow some employees to work
We’re Working Longer, Not Smarter
The truth is, for many American workers, the 40-hour work week is a myth. In fact, 85.8 percent of men and 66.5 percent of women in American routinely work more than 40 hours a week. In addition, troubled economic times mean companies are less likely to be able to offer the kind of benefits and perks employees crave.
While employees are working longer, they’re not necessarily working smarter. A recent Gallup poll found 70 percent of the American workforce is disengaged on the job, leading to more than $550 billion in lost productivity annually. Workers are looking for better flexible time options, which is why two in five working adults would be willing to give up some portion of their salary for more flexibility.
These flexible schedules also benefit Boomers who want to cut down hours but remain working, and women who want to juggle work and family more effectively. In fact, 44 percent of female doctors already work four or fewer days a week.
In order to attract great people and keep them focused during work hours, companies like Treehouse have adopted the four-day work week. Despite cutting a day out of the week, Treehouse has grown by an impressive 120 percent annually and still does millions in sales.
It’s not the only company embracing the trend either. The CEO of 37signals, now Base camp, explained to The New York Times the surprising benefits of making Thursdays the new Friday:
“...There’s one surprising effect of the changed schedule: better work gets done in four days than in five,” CEO Jason Fried said. “When there’s less time to work, you waste less time. When you have a compressed workweek, you tend to focus on what’s important. Constraining time encourages quality time.”
Click here to read more.
Added Productivity
Fried makes an important point: with less time to complete work, there’s also less time to waste. This forces employees to cut down on distractions, roll their sleeves up, and really focus on work while they’re in the office.
According to a survey by the Captivate Network, 45 percent of workers routinely leave the office for doctor and dentist appointments, while 52 percent sneak out to buy gifts and cards. Since 2011 alone, the survey has seen a 31 percent rise in the amount of employees running errands on work hours.
With a shorter work week, employees have more time to run errands, ensuring all of their work hours will be spent on work. This is certainly what happened in Utah, when the local government offered four-day work weeks for many state employees. The initiative was a huge success from the employee perspective, with 70 percent of workers preferring the shorter week. It also increased productivity and decreased absenteeism by nine percent.
After three years, the state reverted back to a regular five-day week, mostly because residents were complaining about lack of access to services on Fridays. The large-scale efforts in Utah, however, show shortened work weeks are viable for even large organizations.
Four-Day Work Week Options
Clearly there are some real benefits to ditching the conventional five-day work week for something a little less traditional. Obviously, not every company is the same and therefore the four-day option which works for one company might be a disaster for another. For instance, many companies would not be able to cut down to a standard four-day week for all employees, especially organizations with customers or clients who would need you on Friday.
Putting employees on staggered schedules can allow you to ensure someone is always in the office Monday through Friday while still giving workers time off. If you employ the 4/10 model, employees work four, 10-hour days. The longer hours allow them to get their work accomplished, while still cutting the work week shorter.
Another schedule has employees work nine hours for five days, allowing them to take a day off biweekly. You’ll still see most of your employees five days a week, but the biweekly days off can work as a reward for work well done, and a chance for your best people to relax and refresh.
The four-day work week won’t be right for every company, but it’s not an impossible perk to implement. By allowing employees to spend some time outside the office, you’ll be improving work-life balance, increasing productivity, and attracting great talent.