Four day week, is it productive?

When I started out in business a few years ago, I wanted teams of people working as much as possible to get more done. Unfourtnetly you can only get so much out of one person, never mind my 13 staff.

Henry Ford first proposed the idea of a 8 hour day back in the 1900’s, his staff typically worked around 14 hours a day. He found, however that by working fewer hours, his staff were more focused and more productive. In 1926, Ford Motor company became one of the first businesses in the world to adopt a five-day, 40 hour week.

Today, it’s the norm.

An article in the New York Times times by CEO James Fried reported that his were more productive, healthier and motivated by working four days a week. With less time to work, there was less time to waste. They were more focused and determined at getting the job done.

At Dreamr, my staff have extra long lunches, attend local events and on a Wednesday, they have dedicated time to learn new skills. They even use it to brush up on old ones or even to learn a new language. The love the four day week concept and it's this commitment to reducing working hours has lead to my team being more engaged, producing a better quality of work, and they are more skilled than ever.

Our Head of Aspiration, Lynne, who champions our Wednesday Workouts ensure all our Dreamr team spend time doing the things they love. Giving your team extra time to relax and learn new skills is an important part of ensuring you build a loyal workforce, attracting the right talent but also showing that you care about them, and not just profits.

One extra hour

Give your team an extra hour a week to do something non-work related. My company Dreamr has seen productivity levels increased and profits sore, yet my staff work less. It’s a no-brainer but doesn’t work for everyone. The facts are clear, staff who are less stressed and more focused produce better quality work.

Let me know how much you work and how productive you are in the comments below.

Nb: a four-day working week calculated as:

3 hours: Wednesday workouts

30 mins: Friday early finishes

4 hours: Extra lunch time per week vs. previous year

7.5 Hours of non-work related time