Boost productivity by working less days.
Who doesn’t love a three-day weekend? They’re great for recharging, getting things done around the house and generally relaxing. We had Monday off for Martin Luther King Day and I definitely felt more energized this week with only four days to work. So why can’t we have 4-day work weeks every week?
Imagine four super-productive days followed by three days off to mentally recharge, get needed appointments done and enjoy the time to do your favorite hobby. At Slingshot SEO, they’re doing just that: giving employees a 4-day work week and the company is seeing great results. As CEO Jay Love outlines in this Inc. column, the shorter, more productive work week has many benefits:
- More innovation;
- Better employee retention (who wants to leave a place where you get a three-day weekend ever week?!?); and
- A very cool perk for recruiting.
Obviously, if the company you work for or the role you’re in is customer service-oriented, there could be some issues with having an office closed on a weekday, so scheduling becomes a factor. But there are ways to work around that too.
Even if a 4-day week every week isn’t feasible, what about every other week? I have a relative that gets every-other Friday off. That would be a nice perk too. Another friend in the insurance industry gets a short Friday every other week. Not bad.
Working 4-day weeks would make everyone more productive as the time spent in the office/working would be more focused. There would be less “M&M problems” to derail actual work as people would be more focused on getting things done. This TEDxMidwest video featuring Jason Fried spells out the M&M problem nicely:
I’m the type that works well on deadline (you can interpret that as “procrastinator” if you’d like) so having a shortened period of time to get things done is a plus to me. And not having to work on a Friday? Even better.
If I worked a 4-day work week, I could be out taking pictures of the fresh snow fall here in New Hampshire rather than be stuck behind the keyboard. Don’t get me wrong – I love my job and am happy to have it, but it’s nice to dream.
Does your employer offer shortened weeks or similar perks? Leave a comment below or tweet your answer to @jmeserve on Twitter.
Hi Jason, I definitely like your idea! Being a new mother to a one year old, I really feel the need to have more time spent around the house getting things done especially for the care of the baby. It would also give me some time to rejuvenate and get ready for a brand new week. I absolutely agree with you that we will get more energized and focused at work after a good rest, which would result in the much better productivity too.
Well, lets keep our fingers crossed and hope that the management will seriously consider this!
I am totally behind this. Where would we grassroots this idea? The culture team?
Remaining competitive in this day and age might not combine well with a 3-day weekend. Regardless of the number of days a week we work, the critical thing is how efficient we are with the 40 or 50 (or for some 60) hours we dedicate to our employer. I find that people tend not to schedule many meetings on Fridays, and that serves me well to catch up with the week. It’s not a day off but I can loosen my belt just a bit and I dont have 300 emails in my inbox.