A five-day, 40-hour workweek may work well when output is measured by items coming down an assembly line, but productivity is different when it comes to knowledge work. When you move to a four-day workweek with strong boundaries around when work starts and stops, employees are more creative and more productive.
Why Less Is More
When you reduce the amount of time you have, it forces you to make the best use of that time
- If you have 20 tasks, you’ll choose the best 14 and do the most essential things first
- By adopting a four-day workweek, Sanok says you’ll look at it in a new way and examine what you’re doing and drop things you should not be spending time doing
How to Implement a Four-Day Workweek
Set up hard and soft boundaries around your time
- Hard boundaries are non-negotiable
- Soft boundaries are rules that can be relaxed when an emergency arises
- Identify what is the trigger for working outside of the time you want to work
- Schedule some hobbies that provide fulfillment
- Track your progress to determine if the shift to four days is working
Getting Your Boss On Board
If you think there’s an opportunity for them to be adaptable to new model, Sanok suggests having a discussion.
- Four-day workweeks often work best when an entire team is on the same schedule
- To handle client emergencies, put a contingency plan in place, with one person on call on a rotating schedule, or have one team pilot it to determine how it might impact others
