How to work 4 days a week: real company experience

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You can work four days a week, and you can do more than five. And this is proved not by scientists in theory, but by the entrepreneur Vitaly Ryzhkov in practice. This is how everything is organized in his creative agency. Find out how to find another day off per week.

Several years ago I dived into the topic of productivity. Sleep for more than seven hours, late waking up, traffic jams - everything began to seem like a waste of time. In fact, such situations can be controlled, but because of them my effectiveness dropped noticeably.

I was convinced that you can work only a few hours, but achieve significant results. This belief and the annoyance of wasting minutes led me to find ways to effectively use my time.

The first attempts failed. After a week of working 14-16 hours a day, I noticed that my productivity level had dropped. And further impulses to tighten up did not lead to anything. For an organized and balanced approach to work, I needed a time management system.

Real time management takes an investment for good results.

Hardly anyone can sit on the couch for years and then get up and run a marathon. So it is with productivity: there will be no effect if you do not make changes in your life.

Time management requires hard decisions to follow every time you think about how and what to spend your time on. You need to develop new habits, build them into your routine and do something new on this basis.

Some changes helped me a lot.

Fast forward a few months

I started a new company and the feeling of wasting time came onto the scene again. It seemed to me that not only I, but also my whole company was not working effectively enough. We missed deadlines, the results were so-so. I had to do something.

To be honest, it had nothing to do with laziness. We worked a lot, sometimes to the point of complete exhaustion. Sometimes I didn’t have enough strength for a family, the employees had the same difficulties.

The solution to this problem fell on my director's shoulders. Everything related to the well-being of my employees and the goals of the company is important to me. I started looking for a way out again. I was interested in the four-day work week.

Can we do better by working only four days to spend the free hours on friends, family, and personal life?

We at the company decided to conduct an experiment.

Employee consent is required

Everyone knows the inconvenience of change, even if the old order was bad and did not work, and the new one promised improvements.

Organizational changes are like buying new shoes. Although the previous shoes had deteriorated, they were much more comfortable. New ones are better, but you need to get used to them.

Most employees must agree with you before you start implementing a new system.

Feedback from employees showed that my ideas for greater productivity were approved, and with this support, it was easier for me to make changes.

Factors affecting productivity

We've worked to be more productive before. But this time they approached the matter systematically: they identified the factors that affect the results. Then the working environment and the working day were changed in such a way as to use the factors profitably. Here's what they found:

• We spend only 10–20% of our working time on efficient work.
• Productivity is higher in the morning, perhaps because we have more energy during this time.
• Rest has a significant impact on efficiency (and most of us don't get enough sleep).
• Your personal situation greatly affects your ability to perform well.
• The more we give, the more we receive.

Identify and eliminate unnecessary

I constantly find out what keeps me from being productive, and try to remove or change those factors in order to spend time on important tasks. At the company, we did the same. After reviewing our research, we brainstormed and worked out measures that helped us use our time effectively.

We've also tried a bunch of changes that help save time. For example:

• Non-fixed lunch break and the opportunity to eat in the office. Employees do not need to decide where to go and waste time on the road.
• We use Slack for communication, we really like this messenger.
• We use Basecamp to manage projects and tasks.
• We use it in the office. They save time and cheer up.
• We trust our colleagues when it is necessary to do a part of the work on which the overall result depends.
• We use Sketch and InVision to sketch and share design ideas.
• We use Google Apps for work.
• We respect each other and do not waste time on unimportant tasks.
• We delegate. We cannot do everything alone.
• We prioritize and do the important things first.

We are still studying and improving processes within the company. Change works for us, for our goals, culture, uniqueness of the company. Each firm is different, and your list of improvements may differ from ours.

Key Experiment Factors

The whole experiment was born out of a very personal reason. The reason for the change was my desire to spend more time with my family. Time was running out, children were growing, and I was losing so much by spending five days at work and working from home on weekends. The children began to look at me as a neighbor, this had to be changed. I had to allocate more time for priorities - family and children.

The second reason. I wanted my employees to do more.

When you invest in people, they understand it and try to give you back more.

In my opinion, we have the best employees. It's easy to be generous with them. I make decisions about business development, and by giving my employees a short work week, I provide them with a meaningful resource. Theoretically, they increase the return, they invest more in the success of the company.

This approach works with people of all types and in all situations, as Gary Vaynerchuk () demonstrates in his book "Jeb, Jab, Jab, Right Hook" using the example of working with clients.

The third reason is the desire to obtain the status of an attractive employer. You need to bring in the best to make great products. Potential employees of this caliber always have several job offers and do their own investigations before signing a contract.

I believed that by creating a culture that employees will enjoy, we will rise above the competition when it comes time to hire new employees. A four-day work week contributes to this, in addition, three days off - an attractive bonus for candidates.

Interim results and conclusions

We tested a four-day work week for a month. Although my results may be called premature, I am confident that the experiment was a success.

I work 10-12 hours a day, four days a week, and spend three days off with my family. And I'm more productive. My employees do more. The more we give, the more we receive. In this situation, everyone won.

We have yet to find out if we will win the competition as the best employer, but this quality of life should appeal to prospective candidates.

In addition, we are seeing lasting positive changes:

• We have increased the effectiveness and speed of progress.
• We have more energy.
• We are as focused on the goals of the company as we are on our own.
• We spend time in the office more accurately and efficiently.
• Many of us volunteer for more (10-14 hours).
• Everyone spends more time with family and friends.

This is the most significant experiment we've ever done at the company. When the idea was launched, I was not sure if it would work. To be honest, things could have turned out badly. Failures rarely raise morale, and it would be unpleasant to return to five days.

In short, we took risks. But this was a deliberate and calculated risk. And luckily it was worth it.

Our way

I'm not used to three days off yet, and my staff are still adjusting too. We manage to do a lot in four days, but this is only part of my genetic code. And I'm still looking for ways to be more productive. Nevertheless, we do not plan to switch to a three-day working week yet.

It all comes down to a real goal. Not work just a few hours, as Tim Ferris suggests in his popular book How to Work 4 Hours a Week. We're just looking for a balance between work and life, family, hobbies and travel.

Everyone has their own list of favorite things to do. But as a company, we must constantly look for ways to achieve this balance that helps us achieve unprecedented success.