Everyone talks about the four-day workweek. But, at least so far, hardly anyone does. In a survey by Gartner Inc., executives considered shortening the workweek the most desired hiring and retention strategy, but only 6% of those same senior leaders said they were implementing it or planned to implement it in their company. organization.
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Instead, employers are more likely to increase paid time off or give workers more flexibility regarding the time to start and finish work each day.
The survey, conducted in late April, revealed that executives feared lost productivity more if they switched to time-based strategies, such as the four-day work week, which has been tested at start-ups and also at some large employers. such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Unilever Plc.
The results come just as California lawmakers shelved a proposal to institute a statewide four-day workweek for hourly employees, showing how difficult widespread adoption of the measure could be.
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While some experiments with shorter workweekslike one in Iceland, resulted in increased productivity and reduced stress, others have been mixed, and are strongly opposed by business groups like the California Chamber of Commerce.
Americans work longer hours and take less time off than most developed countries. The debate over the four days also offers a look at the disconnect between what employees are looking for in the workplace and what managers are willing to offer, exposing flaws in issues such as the effectiveness of remote work, employee benefits and wage increases at a time of unleashed inflation. For companies that are testing some variation of the four-day workweek, flexibility and feedback are critical.
Cisco’s trial began earlier this year with employees from its human resources department, and consists of two eight-week phases. One phase includes 10-hour shifts, four days a week, and the second includes having one Friday off every other.
Cisco will then examine the data and survey employees to see which method worked best. Fran Katsoudas, director of People, Policy and Purpose at Cisco, said employee participation in the trial was about double what she expected, and that she has received inquiries from leaders in other departments about its expansion.
“Our people are willing to try new and different things,” he said in an interview last month. “I think with these new ways of working, it’s about trying to figure out how to make it work with everything else that’s going on in your life.”
EFE
