Written by: Bridget Richard, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I think it's time to address the elephant in the room: the 40-hour workweek. This is a concept that was introduced by Henry Ford back in the 1900s 1920s. So, it's a little bit outdated. Now, of course, this was a new concept that came about considering the normal person worked 100 plus hours a week during that time. So, what Henry Ford introduced was innovative and new and went against the norm of what a normal work week looked like. However, nowadays, I think it's safe to say that 40 hours a week, five days a week is a little much, isn't it?
When do you find the time to do things for you that you need to do considering many businesses are normally closed on the weekend? Businesses like doctors’ practice, government offices, and financial law firms. How can we get done what we need to if we never have time because we're always working?
Countries like Iceland have introduced trials of four-day work weeks, and the idea behind that is that even though you lose a day in the workweek, you can optimize and possibly even raise your productivity by allowing your workers to have fewer set days to work. Rather than having a two-day weekend, you'd have a three-day weekend. This would allow your employees to be able to have one day per week that they're able to dedicate towards things they really need to do during the week. It would also allow them to have the weekend to truly relax, decompress, and de-stress so that they can come to work Monday morning, (or whatever that work week will look like), and allow them to be more productive.
Now many employers are starting to catch on to this trend. They are starting to cut down on the number of hours they're having employees work. And a lot of companies that are doing this are starting to see an increase in productivity. So, losing a workday does not necessarily mean you would lose the amount of productivity. We're seeing cases where productivity has increased from before. Employees have higher morale. They are not being as burnt out as easily or as often they were since they are able to give more of themselves and put in more of an effort into doing their work, going above and beyond for the company.
Many employers are starting to consider that employees are more than simply a number; they are an individual with a life outside of the company. By allowing them to have an extra day in the week, they take care of personal needs, home needs, whatever needs that they have that they're not normally able to do on the weekend or have to call off time to be able to do during working hours.
Now, this is one of the suggestions that can go across the board for different types of industries. Before the pandemic hit, hundreds of companies around the world, including Korea, South Korea and Japan (you know, the countries that are known for death by overwork), started moving to four-day work weeks, six-hour days, and other shorter work weeks. Many were small companies that had fewer than 100 people and included creative and professional service firms, startups, restaurants, factories, nursing homes, and other industries where overwork is very common, and deadlines are often inflexible.
Now why they did it was more of a question of eventually when would the dying out period of employees happen?
Not necessarily that they would physically die, but how long could the company keep up this sort of working structure. A lot of these companies that decided to make these changes were led by seasoned founders, and they found themselves facing burnout or some kind of threat to their company. Things like low employee morale, high turnover rate, low productivity, missing deadlines. They were facing these types of issues. These people concluded that working even longer hours was unsustainable, and they thought they could invent a better working environment for employees to function and actually be able to be productive. So, for those who want to take part, it's one thing to think about the benefits of it: you have a three-day weekend, a better work-life balance, more time to decompress, be with friends and family
You know, when you have a designated day during the week where you're able to try to coordinate a little bit easier. Especially nowadays where a lot of employers are starting to take notice that employees need more personal development skills that transfer not only from the professional life but personal life and vice versa. You would also have time to do any hobbies or exercise anything that can help boost an employee's mood, morale, their way of thinking their way of feeling, and their focus
The one thing I want to stress is companies didn't just lop off a day from the calendar. They didn't just decide every other Friday is going to be off and part of the weekend. Instead, they had to really sit down and think about how they are going to redesign how they work, how their work structure and work week are going to look because it still must flow nicely with deadlines if they're working with clients or accounts. The key to unlocking a shorter work week without reducing productivity would be in three different areas: tightening meetings, introducing focus time which is where everybody can then concentrate on key tasks, and using technology more mindfully. Work smarter, not harder.
There are examples of companies who use a very hard chair for their meetings to encourage people to be brief. Others have included timers that they use to keep meetings short. Studies have shown that technology makes productive office workers waste two to four hours a day, thanks to outmoded processes.
You can go a long way towards being able to make a four-day workweek possible not only for yourself but for your employees as well. By having more focus time, it also gives companies space for a dedicated social time during the day which, a lot of times. We have seen that companies don't necessarily put an emphasis on during work or at work since it is usually looked down upon. However, we have seen the benefits of socializing because humans, in fact, are very social creatures and being social is something we need to do. It is beneficial not only for us, but for others as well. And it also builds up a sense of camaraderie amongst workers as well.
Many companies who made these changes were able to see their employees could be just as productive in four days rather than five. Some even saw employee productivity go up exponentially. What's more, is that revenues and profits rose because of four-day weeks. They were a lot cheaper to implement and attracted new customers.
Nowadays, many people are putting a focus on personal time. It's not so much about the working man, but a person in general. And working goes along with that. Most of the time now, a lot of the people that we see entering the workforce are looking to grow a business or found a business or expand.
They are looking at something new and innovative. Something that goes against the norm. Something that it makes them different. Something that helps them to broaden their reach and be able to attract the people that they are looking to attract.
Because of the increase in productivity, many companies were able to reduce hours but not cut salaries. In turn, this boosted retention rates and attracted more experienced workers. And smaller firms, smaller organizations and businesses were finally able to compete with those established companies for senior talent. It's important to show that companies aren't losing out on their bottom line, but they are in fact, gaining more of it, and they're actually happier, healthier and having better workers as well.
And with the pandemic, many companies had to scramble to restructure how employees would work. They had to adopt new technologies and routines; especially since employees were no longer in the workplace but working from home. Many of the companies that had already made changed found the transition easier to deal with than those with a traditional sense of the workplace. Leadership knew that employees already had the skills to adapt, they were able to see this prior to the pandemic when four-day workweeks were introduced with these changes. Employees were able to make the changes and adapt very well. And once the employees, started working from home, nobody had to constantly document the work that they were doing.
Now, companies that made the shift to a shorter work week during the pandemic would do so simply because they found the efficiencies of remote work and better use of technology created more free time. This free time could then be turned around and given back to employees who are already feeling stressed, overworked, or burnt out because of the pandemic life. If companies weren't using online tools, such as Google Suite, Asana, Trello, Slack, zoom, anything like that prior to the pandemic, they definitely learned because they found that it made workflow easier, more efficient, and productive.
By shortening the work week, it also has allowed people to figure out their working style and what works best for them. There are different techniques that people have used to figure out what is their best and most productive time of the day for themselves based on their personality types.
Many companies have already made all the kinds of technology investments that are necessary in order to implement a shorter workweek. This would make the four-day work week a lot more accessible and attainable. For the week work, we can also help address any structural and inequalities that the pandemic threw into sharp relief. Many job losses in 2020 erased decades of gains that were made by women in the workplace. A four-day work week could actually help them recover. Many companies who have adopted this model have found that they often prefer working mothers, whom they value for experience, organizational skills, collaborative ability, time management, and ruthless ability to prioritize.
There are many labor markets that we have seen in the past and present that often reward staying late and not having a life beyond work. And many of them ended up charging a sort of penalty for motherhood. Now/, in contrast to this, companies that often have a shorter work week, pay a premium for it. And they have identified that working mothers are actually the type of people that they would like to work for them.
Let's not forget the global and external economic factors that also would come about from a shorter workweek. It translates into lower energy consumption, less carbon emissions, less commuting time. People wouldn’t really have to commute as much.
The four-day work week would also help people develop a healthier vision of what work and time really are, and how they can work together and what that would look like.
With globalization, outsourcing, automation, digitization, and most recently, the rise of the always-on economy, we are often encouraged (at times required) to work long hours, and sacrifice your self-worth in order to help keep things going. A shorter workweek would allow work and life to be better balanced and actually be achieved. Rest actually helps with fueling creativity, energy, and productivity. And companies can actually tap into an employee's passions.
It's not impossible. It's not something that isn't obtainable. It is something that is within our grasp. And we just really need to sit down and start a conversation as to why this isn't a thing, when it can happen and how we can go moving forward.
Bridget Richard, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Bridget Richard, MA, LISW-S is a Social Worker and Life Coach with 20+ years of experience in the field of mental health. In her work, she is passionate about helping with women to conquer feelings of anxiety and depression caused by burnout. She helps her clients move from being too frustrated and overwhelmed to enjoy life to focused, empowered, and re-energized. Bridget enjoys bringing her message of self-love and determination to virtual and live venues everywhere. She has been featured in the Women's Journal as a "Person You Want to Know" and regularly contributes to Thrive, Medium, and Brainz Magazine. To learn more about working with Bridget schedule your free discovery call at https://calendly.com/bridgetsrichard/freeconsult.
