Less Hours, Same Pay?!
How a Shorter Work Week Leads to Outstanding Results
I have put it off long enough! For years now I have been researching companies in the US and around the world that have made a major change. They decided to shorten their workweeks and have their teams work 32 hours instead of 40 hours. Get this…. THEY STILL GET PAID FOR 40 HOURS!!! That sounds insane right?! Let’s dig deeper on this topic.
First, I would like to talk about what made me start researching this topic. Growing up, I saw many families doing the bare minimum. What I mean by this is that parents and kids become so drained from work and school that they barely have a chance to spend time and BE a family. The thoughts kept going through my mind on what could be done differently. Then a few years ago I saw an article that talked about shorter work weeks. At that moment I just though it seemed like cool idea, but then I really started to grasp what it would mean. I started listing off all the possibilities: less stress, more time with kids or spouse, more time to plan outings. After thinking it over, I fully believe that a shorter work week will lead to a better economy for everyone. I will show some examples.
In 2008, Chicago-based software company called Basecamp switched their work schedules to have a “summer hours” policy so that from March 1st through August 31st they would only work 32 hours a week. This change showed promising results not only in the happiness of their team but also the quality of their work. One of the staff Kris Kniles states that it wasn’t about them having to work faster by removing a day, but it allowed them to work smarter and prioritize their workload.
Another company out of San-Franciso, Bolt, started their 4-day workweek in 2021. What originally started as a trial run for them became a permanent staple in their business after just a three-month trial period. The founder Ryan Breslow stated that he believed there is no “if” but rather a “when” for starting the shorter work week.
Buffer led by CEO Joel Gascoigne started their 4-day workweek in 2020 also as a trial run. Joel explains that this was to experiment with “well-being, mental health, and placing us as humans and our families first.” After two years the company held surveys to capture results with 91% of the team saying they feel more happy and more productive and 84% said that they can get the workload done in just 4 days. These are just a few companies that have made the move, but there are even more outside the US doing the same.
Other countries that have made efforts to experiment with shorter workweeks are Spain, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and more. This includes more companies such as Microsoft, Kickstarter, Elephant Ventures, Nationwide Solar, and others too. Exos, a company with over 3000 staff worldwide made the switch to 32-hour workweeks by starting a “You Do You Fridays” initiative. Not only were staff happier and more efficient, but the turnover rate dropped from 47% in 2022 to 29% in 2023.
It is fair to say that this has not worked for every company, some trial runs did not work out. For example, Google does show a list of companies that had to revert back to 5-day weeks to work out the issues they did not anticipate with 4-day weeks. However, I have not been able to find a single article about these events and only find articles on companies that require five days in office.
You may be thinking, “Jason you have mostly mentioned software industries, but this can’t possibly work in a more demanding field like manufacturing.” This is a valid thought, but let’s talk about a manufacturer that has made it succeed. Advanced RV, led by CEO Mike Neundorfer since 2012, switched to working 32 hours a week (while paid for 40) Tuesday through Friday building custom luxury motorhomes. There were some months of less production, but the team came together to improve process to work more efficient. Now 1.5 years later they have made up for the lost productivity in the experiment months. This is part of a bigger organization called 4 Day Week Global that is making an effort to make 4-day workweeks possible until they reach 200 companies. So far 41 American and Canadian companies have joined the mission in 2022 and not a single one of the 41 have reported going back to 40 hours a week.
So where am I going with this you ask? There is clear evidence on long work hours being connected with depression and suicide. Not only that, but also connected with hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and strokes. While the data supports this, I plan to further my research to cover even more categories. My beliefs are that today’s work and school schedule is a leading factor in our crime, divorce, and mortality rate. Think about it like this, with shorter work weeks we can:
Spend more time with our families
Have more time to plan outings
Have time to exercise
Spend more money back into our economy
More time to cook, which means healthier meals
More time to be a parent
More time for hobbies
Lower stress, which means less smoking and drinking for many
More time to actually go see a doctor without missing work
Create jobs in longer industries, wages are more than covered by increased productivity and increased revenue from people spending more
These are just some of the benefits I see, but there are more, and I am sure you can think of some too. There are obstacles that hold us back though. Many people have a mindset of, “If I had to work like this, you should too!” Also, the Mr. Krabs in the world who can’t imagine a shorter work week because it sounds like less money. Forbes, one of the biggest blogs for business, has an entire article about how “stressful” it must be on the staff to try to do everything in just four days, but they did not share a single piece of evidence or data to support why 4-day workweeks would be a bad thing. Even with all the evidence in the world, there will be people that are reluctant to have shorter work weeks. However, I see life as progression. We put in the work so those who come after don’t have to. We need to embrace change and not be afraid to try.
“While a good leader sustains momentum, a great leader increases it.” - John C. Maxwell