In the News: Would a 4-Day Work Week Work for Your Business?

[Pesso]

Hey Newsies,

Today we’re looking at an article from Inc. reporting on the potential benefits of shifting to a 4-day work week for small businesses. I’d love to hear your experiences on this!

Inc.: These Small Businesses Adopted 4-Day Work Weeks. Here’s What they Learned

There’s been a lot of talk in the last few years about shifting to a 4-Day Work Week (4DWW). While the majority of this conversation has been around traditional office jobs, the article explains that shifting to a 4-day work week can have big benefits for small businesses too. 

The article cites some case studies of small businesses who have implemented it, and the biggest benefits are around increasing productivity, much as it is for more traditional jobs. Burnout has a real cost to businesses of all sizes, and affects not only us as business owners and managers, but also our employees. Shifting to a 4DWW can give ourselves and our employees more time to rest each week, so they’re more energized when they come back to work. 

Personally, I love the idea of a national shift to a 4-day work week. When I ran my shop, both my dad and I were able to adjust our own personal schedule to only be there 4 days a week, except during extremely busy times. 

Our business was open 7 days a week, 10+ hours each day, split into two main shifts. Our employees were all seasonal and part-time, paid hourly, and most of them only worked 4-5 days a week, about 6 hours per shift. We consciously made that decision to limit them to only 4 or 5 days because we saw that when they worked 5-6 days a week, they were more tired and less productive when they were on shift. Overall it led to happier employees who could enjoy their time off and be more engaged while they worked.

If we were to stick to a strict 4 day week, we would probably have had to hire additional employees. But since they were paid hourly, the total cost to the business would probably stay about the same, except for some additional initial training time to pay for. 

What’s your perspective:

• Would shifting to a 4-day work week lead to any additional costs for your business?

• Would the benefits for a 4-day work week be worth it for your business?

• Have you, or would you try this out?

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Pesso

This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance or advice specific to your business, you should consult with a qualified legal professional.

[Sam_400º]

I work a 2 day week most of the year and throw in a few extra days in the summer. 

That’s the balance that works for me. 

The 4 day week as a contentious issue here, with the local government trialing a 4 day week (very dodgy test, leader involved with some research so its a little loaded) while the national government keeps telling them to stop and making threats.  [NEWS LINK]

[Pesso]

I love that, @Sam_400º -- seasonal demand based businesses rock. 

How did you land on the 2 days? Is that more demand based or more on what you want?

Thanks for sharing that article! 

There's been a bunch of test in the US and a senator introducing a bill for it, so we'll see how things go for us!

[vinesandrushes]

All of our staff set their own availability and most of our staff is part-time.  I generally work 6 days a week but every week and season is a little different.  There are only a few of our staff that will occasionally be over 40 hours in a week and most of the time when that happens it's because it's harvest and fruit processing season (during which we just work all the necessary hours to get the job done).  I continue to hand off duties to other staff over time and that frees me up to do the things that I can do most effectively as the owner.  I really enjoy most of the work I do and the team I've been able to build around me.  Those things make the work much less like work.

This is a blog post by an author/speaker named Merlin Mann that everyone should read.  I've re-read it a few times since he wrote it in 2011.  

https://www.43folders.com/2011/04/22/cranking

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing your experience and the article, @vinesandrushes ! I'll take a read of that next. 

That's so wonderful that you've been working to delegate and pass things over to other folks, and that's been helping you enjoy things even more and keep you going! 

How's the staff morale feeling?

[Minion]

If I were working for a large company, or any company for that matter, Ideally a 4 day work week, specifically 4 10 hour shifts would definitely be ideal. 

Being a one man show, in  automotive customization I don't think that this would work out for me.  I try not to get any more booked any than 3 weeks as it is.  I look at my business as non-essential, so when someone has an extensive amount time think about $600+ on a bedliner, or $1000 plus on undercoating protection that tends to get put on the back burner.  Given the cost of living, an expected expenses that can come up.

If however that above wasn't the case, then a 4 day work week could potentially benefit as far as extending my work into slower periods of time (March)., but that is really the only benefit that I see for myself from it.

[maxpete]

Definitely hear you on being a one-person company, it's hard to limit the amount of hours that it takes to run your business!

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing, @Minion -- that's a really good point. If you have a client and they want to pay for something non-essential, you don't really want to delay in case they change their mind!

[CareyJo]

I don't know if it's common practice in other places... but in MT, it's very common to see businesses, even restaurants, only open Tue-Sat.  Most businesses are M-F only and 9 to 5 at that.  Only major retailers are open on Sundays in MT.  This is because our warm weather is such a short season and all of the schools have to travel so much just to play games, that most businesses aren't open Sun-Mon.  People want and need time off.  All middle school, high school and college games require travel.  We only have one city in MT that has more than two high schools, so other than crosstown games, every game is traveled.  This includes colleges going out of state because we have so few schools that they can only play each other once per season and they're all on different levels, so they don't play all the schools.  All six major towns have two high schools.  All the others maybe have one and have combined elementary-middle schools.  We have a very high number of small-medium businesses in MT, so people are accustomed to setting a different schedule.

That being said... we also go with that flow and only offer service 4 days per week.  Our office is 'open' M-F and I answer the phone on Friday, but it's usually a dead day, so I get very few calls.  We reserve Fridays for our rental properties and our commercial contracts, so even though we're 'working', it's different work and we often have Fridays off completely.  We refuse to do an install on a Friday unless it is a serious no heat emergency because if there are any problems completing the installation, we're leaving them without heat for the weekend.  Suppliers aren't open after 5 or on weekends.

The biggest benefit that I have always seen to being self-employed is being able to set our own schedule and decide when we're open.  We travel a lot and have that flexibility to say we're closed.  Our Walmarts never even went back to being 24/7 and people are okay with that.  If retailers and restaurants can decide when they're available - why can't we?  Customers should never decide when your business is open.  If they do, then you've given them too much power.  The only reason that so many big box stores are open on Thanksgiving Day in the US is because the customers have controlled them.  It shouldn't be like that.

I get that there are not only businesses who offer specific products and services that need to accommodate the customers at off hours but there are also customers that need to purchase from vendors at different times than normal, to make their business run.  Like the coffee shops - they can't open at 9:00 am when people are already at work.  But if you're not a grocery store or gas station, or do business in international time zones, do you really need to be controlled by being more available?

We don't have employees and don't plan to but I do know from watching my husband work 10-12 hour days all winter (9 months), that a 4DWW is good for everything.

[Pesso]

Thanks for jumping in here to share, @CareyJo ! That's so interesting about folks being closed on Sundays -- I've heard a lot of no Mondays, but over here basically everything is open on Sundays since the weekends tend to be the busiest for businesses with a lot of folks getting weekends off. 

That's such a good point and a smart way to run things, to not do installations on Fridays in case things go wrong! Fridays easily can turn into Saturdays in those cases. I love that you're thinking in these ways, and maintaining the boundaries and control that you want, rather than it being determined for you. I think there is a fine line there, and to a certain extent businesses should determine demand based on customer habits and needs, but you're totally right that you need to draw lines and do what's best for you as the owner. 

Thanks again for all of your awesome insights as always! We really appreciate ya!

[_Brandon_]

I just hope it catches on for our competition. 😉

[maxpete]

😏 I see what you did there!

[phillipsrw]

In an ideal world this would be great, love the idea of working less. We run production using a 'just in time' production model, so it wouldn't be practical as it would require more staff and holding more stock.

The other challenge is recruitment. A move to a 4 day week would be difficult to recruit for as the workforce will then be looking for a 3 day a week positions. 

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing, @phillipsrw ! 

How much more staff would you actually need? 

Very good point -- recruitment is always hard. Interesting take there! I think some of the idea around the 4 day is that it's short enough that folks would be happy and not necessarily look for less. Do you think they still would look for 3 days?

[rtfulk]

A 4 day work week wouldn’t work for us. Our fairs run 11-24 days in a row. When we leave to work the MidWest in July, we are on the road for 4.5 months. In that time frame we get 5 days off. The only bright side to our business fair season runs from July to April, so we  are off the road in May and June. We sale from our website and have turned one of our bedrooms into a studio and we do live shows during that time. This is also the time we take off for vacation.

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing, @rtfulk !

Ah yes, that's a really good point! Are there ways to give some folks on the team days off, while others keep working?

Would that boost morale and reduce burnout during that very intense schedule busy season?
Would you need to bring on another employee or two to make that happen? What would that cost? 

[JUYBoutique20]

I don't know about a 4-day work week but I'm definitely debating doing a 5-day work week.  Tues-Sat would be ideal, but looking at my sale trends Monday has become one of my good days.  I love what @CareyJo said "Customers should never decide when your business is open." and that's where I think I'm leaning more toward.  I'm already closed on Sunday but adding Monday would give me more time to do other things I want to do at this point in my life.  Being in retail I don't think it would be feasible to close on a Sat which is one of the biggest shopping days or maybe I look at it like that because I've trained my customers to shop on Sat with me.  I might play with a new schedule of Mon-Fri instead.... Thanks for giving a different perspective on this topic.  I've definitely been throwing the idea around here lately.    

[CareyJo]

You know... you don't even have to be open consecutive days... If Monday is a busy day for you and obviously you want to keep Saturdays, what about being closed on Sundays and your slowest day of the week?  Why pay overhead for a day that doesn't generate enough sales.  Who says you have to follow the norm?  I have a friend who used to only be open Th-Sat from 10-4 until she grew her business to where it is today.  Then she changed it to Tu-Sa.  Also think of it in terms of percentage... if 80% of your clients shop on Saturdays and only 1% of the rest of your clientele will complain about what day they want to shop on, that 1% is almost a non-existent impact on your business.  If you're keeping the 98%+ happy and they pay your bills, THAT'S what matters.  Only work the days that you feel work best for you!

[Pesso]

Such great points here, @JUYBoutique20 & @CareyJo !

Another thing to think about -- you don't necessarily need to be closed 3 days a week to have a 4 day work week! The business can still be open without you/all employees there. 

[CareyJo]

I was thinking the same thing but of course that is always dependent on having quality employees you can trust, but definitely something to consider!

[Bronze_Palms]

I really like the insight you found in the line: 

"We consciously made that decision to limit them to only 4 or 5 days because we saw that when they worked 5-6 days a week, they were more tired and less productive when they were on shift. Overall it led to happier employees who could enjoy their time off and be more engaged while they worked.

"If we were to stick to a strict 4 day week, we would probably have had to hire additional employees. But since they were paid hourly, the total cost to the business would probably stay about the same, except for some additional initial training time to pay for."

I am seeing the same reduced morale. Did you have conversations with staff about taking hours away? Curious how that convo went and if it was welcomed.

[Bronze_Palms]

Also, it sounds like we have very similar shift models. I run 2 shifts per day but sometimes its not so busy and staff are scheduled anyways. I am curious what you do in that situation - do you keep staff on anyways and watch it for a few weeks or do you take quicker action and go down in staff members for that shift?