Key Learnings After One Year of Four-DayWorkweek
It was not only a significant risk for Bolt but was also hard to perfect for employees. The 4DWW is still a work in progress.
So much has been written about four-day work weeks (FDWW); it is hard to find whitespace on the proverbial topic for employees. With the coming expectation of a US recession in 2023 or a possible slowdown in employment and hiring, the power dynamic between employees’ wants and wishes and employers’ expectations and desires might widen, making the FDWW a bug and not a feature. Time will tell.
First-Hand Feedback
Here are ten observations from real first-hand experience after working and living with a four-day workweek for all of 2022. I hope it refines expectations and programs for Executives and Managers contemplating a change to their work week.
- Four days, not three — lots of Federal Holidays make the weeks three days. These need to be avoided, and a fourth day added when there are three work days in a week due to a Holiday.
- All employees in all countries need to be on the same program. One key of the four-day week is everyone working on the same days. This can be difficult when there are misaligned work weeks due to global holidays.