With the four-day work week employees gain an extra day of rest but with no reduction in pay.
The regular weekend is too short. It is not possible that in an era as technologically advanced as ours, our work week has not been shortened. Two days per week are not enough to rest properly, especially considering the realities of people (mostly women) who need to do caring tasks at home, which is also (unwaged) labor. In the context of the emotional health crisis described in the previous sections, a longer weekend is a pragmatic solution that would allow people to have time for personal cultivation (sports, culture, others) and fresher minds to face work on Mondays.
Clarity
As in many cases, a four-day work week may be a significant transformation of organisational culture. Thus, clear communication is critical. We suggest starting with a series of talks between managers and workers explaining what to expect from this policy and the benefits and reasoning behind it. It is important to clarify that the change is to four days with no reduction in pay, and not a five-day week with compressed hours resulting in four very long working days.
A trial period
Some organisations start with a trial period for a few months before moving to permanent implementation. Other organisations opt for a progressive change, starting with specific departments and then expanding the scheme to the entire workforce. Whatever option is decided upon, it will be important to be transparent about timelines and evaluation indicators that will be considered in order to move forward with permanent implementation.
Reformulation of services
In some cases, an organisation may need to reformulate their services. For instance, in the digital rights ecosystem, a number of organisations offer rapid response services or security helplines which require a constant line of communication between employees and “clients.” In these cases, the shortened working week emerges as an opportunity to reorganise the working hours. If this is not possible, organisations should look at redundancies of roles (ie, hiring more staff) so that there is adequate coverage.
Budgets based on weeks
It is also possible and advisable to include contractors in this scheme, particularly since in some cases organisations may not be able to hire full time staff for every task for a variety of reasons. A useful tip is to prepare budgets based on weeks rather than hours. In fact, focus on outcomes and not on hours is also incredibly beneficial in the promotion of meaningful work.
Coordinating schedules
It is advisable that, when possible, all team members have the same days of rest off during the week so people don’t feel the added stress of thinking they are missing out or dropping the ball. Each organisation should find the most convenient schedule for their staff and goals.
Optimising communication channels
In the digital rights field remote work has been common for many years, which is an advantage at the moment of optimising working time. In the case of our organisation, a smoother operational system that clearly states goals, objectives and timelines has contributed to improve our efficiency plus the cultivation of trust among teammates, who feel more confident to be honest about their work demands and workloads.
A project by Team Community based at Article19
