In the News: Would a 4-Day Work Week Work for Your Business?

[Pesso]

Hey Newsies,

Today we’re looking at an article from Inc. reporting on the potential benefits of shifting to a 4-day work week for small businesses. I’d love to hear your experiences on this!

Inc.: These Small Businesses Adopted 4-Day Work Weeks. Here’s What they Learned

There’s been a lot of talk in the last few years about shifting to a 4-Day Work Week (4DWW). While the majority of this conversation has been around traditional office jobs, the article explains that shifting to a 4-day work week can have big benefits for small businesses too. 

The article cites some case studies of small businesses who have implemented it, and the biggest benefits are around increasing productivity, much as it is for more traditional jobs. Burnout has a real cost to businesses of all sizes, and affects not only us as business owners and managers, but also our employees. Shifting to a 4DWW can give ourselves and our employees more time to rest each week, so they’re more energized when they come back to work. 

Personally, I love the idea of a national shift to a 4-day work week. When I ran my shop, both my dad and I were able to adjust our own personal schedule to only be there 4 days a week, except during extremely busy times. 

Our business was open 7 days a week, 10+ hours each day, split into two main shifts. Our employees were all seasonal and part-time, paid hourly, and most of them only worked 4-5 days a week, about 6 hours per shift. We consciously made that decision to limit them to only 4 or 5 days because we saw that when they worked 5-6 days a week, they were more tired and less productive when they were on shift. Overall it led to happier employees who could enjoy their time off and be more engaged while they worked.

If we were to stick to a strict 4 day week, we would probably have had to hire additional employees. But since they were paid hourly, the total cost to the business would probably stay about the same, except for some additional initial training time to pay for. 

What’s your perspective:

• Would shifting to a 4-day work week lead to any additional costs for your business?

• Would the benefits for a 4-day work week be worth it for your business?

• Have you, or would you try this out?

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Pesso

This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance or advice specific to your business, you should consult with a qualified legal professional.

[Pesso]

Thanks @Bronze_Palms !

It was very much a gradual process. We never had a super consistent schedule, and things were always in flux, so it was somewhat easy to just make that shift. We of course talked to our employees and told them the rationale, and if they really wanted more than just 4 days then we would try it out and keep the conversations going to assess energy levels and performance. And at a certain point we had that policy in place so the expectations were put forward when we hired new folks. 

In terms of adjusting schedules for busy-ness, that was also very much in flux. We definitely had more folks on each night shift when it was busier, than during the day shift. It was a delicate balance of trying to not have too many people on shift when it was slow, and also making sure that our employees were getting enough hours. Sometimes when it would storm we would ask if anyone wanted to go home, and give them the option. For longer term trends, we would definitely wait a few weeks to make sure that it was a real trend rather than just a temporary thing happening.

Would love to talk through more if you have any other questions, and maybe some other folks here can share too!

[VanKalkerFarms]

I love the concept as a person who just clocked 105 last week.  I know that won't work for owners, but I do think it could benefit workers.  My issue would be that I can't even fill the positions that I need now with 45 hour schedules with $18-$23 hourly.  

For the 3 years I worked for a company we worked 4 days 11 hours (6a - 6p)  and I loved that .  get a ton done cause there is less starting in the morning and packing up at night etc and then you had a 3 day weekend, which just meant I got another job but it could have been nice but I was working to build $ for house so putting in the hours was all that mattered.