Entrepreneurs share about 4 day workweeks
Nick Chernets
CEO of DataforSEO
Personally, I really like this idea and I think companies won’t necessarily lose productivity this way.
When employees have more time to rest and rewind, their motivation increases and they are likely to finish more work during those 4 days.
Also, achieving work-life balance is much easier when you spend only 4 days in the office.
So far, we haven’t introduced the system simply because COVID already brought so many changes and it’s still not certain what the situation will look like in the fall.
I think it would be very chaotic if we made another major change in our work organization which is why the 4-day workweek will have to wait for some time.
DataforSEO
Emily Hall
CEO of Liquid Web NZ
4 day workweeks are an interesting concept that tends to trigger a lot of people!
Locally, only 37% of people think that a 4 day workweek will result in higher productivity, and many call it a generation of lazy entitled workers.
However, we saw many companies open to a trial run of it here in New Zealand.
With the pandemic happening along with our transition into work-from-home life, we felt it was the right time to give it a go.
We didn’t see much of a loss in business during 2020, and therefore had no need to make budget cuts or anything like that.
But with all of the uncertainty, I personally felt it was something that we could do to help our team if they wanted some extra time to be with family, or to help them with their children who were also attending school online.
New Zealand is known for being trendsetters internationally for many things, but workplace culture has a lot of room for change.
We require forward-thinking businesses to set an example within New Zealand and show how out of date the standard 40-hour, nine-to-five week really is..
I wanted our company to be a part of that.
Almost all staff took up the offer and were willing to give it a trial run and after 6 months, productivity hasn’t dropped a single bit from where we began!
Our staff have reported to be happy with a better work-life balance and we are continuing forward with this being an option for any team member who joins us.
Liquid Web NZ
Teo Vanyo
CEO of StealthAgents
Allowing employees to work four days per week can help them be much more effective.
When compared to their overworked colleagues, employees who work fewer hours per week are more productive.
When implementing a four-day workweek, it is better to compress rather than extend employees’ work hours for better results.
Stealth Agents
Sam Shepler
Founder of Testimonial Hero
Yes, I offer my team a 4-day workweek because I strongly believe in how it positively impacts productivity and increases employee satisfaction.
Employees have more time to rest and are able to maintain a healthier work-life balance, so if it benefits them as well as it benefits the company, then why not give it a try?
However, I really don’t want to be that person who says: “I don’t know why aren’t all companies doing it” because I know it’s not that easy and that, like everything in life, it has its cons.
Companies that directly provide services to people or that have inquiries on a daily basis may see adapting to a 4-day workweek as extremely difficult, as well as small businesses that would have to go through a tough time re-adjusting to a new system and would possibly lose some money during that process.
Nonetheless, I personally love the idea of working only four days a week and I hope it becomes the new normal for every business in the near future.
Testimonial Hero
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About the Community
On the podcast, Sean talks with entrepreneurs about the reality of their struggle to succeed, as well as answering questions from the community, and sharing nuggets of wisdom from his own life.
Discover through these amazing episodes the courage to open your mind, heart, and soul to the world so you can be the best entrepreneur possible, respect the people you work with, and improve the world with your company while not hurting others or yourself in the process.
Sean Weisbrot
Sean is an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor based in SE Asia for over 12 years. He is passionate about Psychology and helping others improve themselves.
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