Three day weekends & spiritualism anyone?

One of the benefits of working for myself is that I can design working days that ensure I Get Shit Done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Which, for me, means working short but intense days with deep thinking tasks early in the morning. I share this as I reflect on author Emma Gannon’s recent tweet…

What we really mean by the four day week

❌ It’s not where new mothers have Fridays off—while still answering their emails, being paid less, respected less and hearing their bosses say things like, “but is she really committed….?’

✅ The model often cited is 80% of your time for 100% of your pay. This model is currently being trialled in a number of countries, including the UK, by companies like smartphone-based bank Atom, where most employees are offered a four day week by default. In Atom’s case they have to work one extra hour per day of the four days, but get what they were being paid for five.

The idea is that by working more productively—cutting down on meetings, admin and staring into space time—attracts and retains talent and improves productivity. Burnout is reduced.

Questions YOU need to ask

I talked to Alex Soojung-Kim Pang who wrote the book Shorter about why it’s all over the news again.

And Joe Ryle, Campaign Director for the 4 Day Week Campaign in the UK, about their ultimate ambitions to move to the economy to a four day weeks.

🤔 Is this right for everyone?

⏰ What works for my body clock?

Working for myself I know I get far more done in more shorter days than fewer long days. But YOU might well prefer the longer weekend.

📆 What do I want to do with the extra day?

If you want to retrain as a trapeze artist, try out for Bake Off, or hang out with you mum, it could work well for you.

👩‍👦 Are you a parent or carer?

Sure, we could move to a four day school week, but will we? But one of the things we know about learning is that little and often works best, so cramming the school week into four days strikes me as a bad strategy.

Questions EMPLOYERS should ask

🤒 Would shorter weeks mean less absence and sick pay?

Even if you have more staff, you might be saving money.

👥 Will this help attract & retain talent?

Will employees value ‘chunking’ work, or does less time cut the fun and interactive bits of working life?

💰 Is time or output more important?

A four day week could put too much emphasis on the time.

The reality is, we’re all different in our work preferences. For me, it’s not the answer. For you, it might be the ticket. But are other models better? Six hours days, hybrid, all-remote?

You tell me.

In other news, some deeply sensible friends have been visiting a spiritualist and say she has changed their perspectives dramatically… Is there a place for the spiritual in business? Should I go and see her and report back? Or shall we leave my great aunty Celia to rest in peace?

Next week

How to avoid being BORING. Especially for organisations sharing though leadership.

See you Friday!

Christine