Founder of Regenerate, a training firm focused on sustainable performance for high-pressure career professionals and fast-paced companies.
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Four-day work week trials are catching on and companies are eagerly anticipating the results. In Iceland, early programs have been deemed an “overwhelming success.”
Will this catch on in the U.S.?
When I work with American companies, I see a few pitfalls that may hold this experiment back from success. The biggest is this: Too many companies trialing this experiment will do so by just cutting the number of hours people work.
Nothing else will change about their workplace or business processes. They’ll just expect people to do the same amount of work in less “official” time, then catch up unofficially during their personal hours.
I’ve also seen one major framework shift that could be a gamechanger toward making a shorter work week happen. In most workplaces, meetings are absolutely the biggest distraction and impediment to shifting to a fewer-hours model. Cut the meetings and you’ll see a big shift almost immediately.
We are not starved for information on how to have a better meeting—have a two-pizza rule, require an agenda, don’t attend the same meetings as your staff, etc.
But those suggestions are just Band-aids. Deeper issues are preventing your team from implementing a healthier meeting culture, including:
• Lack of trust/safety. People keep going to meetings because they don’t want others to question their diligence. They go to look good or out of FOMO, rather than having clarity about when and where their efforts are most needed.
• Consensus culture. You’ve probably seen the meme that says, “I survived another meeting that could have been an email.” Meeting organizers often host meetings just to start a discussion or secure consensus, rather than using that time for action and implementation.
• Going with the status quo. It’s often easier to just go to the meeting and feign interest while multi-tasking or surreptitiously using your phone than to simply not attend.
The result? Everyone ends up stuck in meetings they don’t want or need. Many managers report spending more than 23 hours weekly in meetings, leaving very little time for focused work unless they spend extra hours away from their family/personal life and glued to their computer or mobile device.
Sounds bleak, doesn’t it? Fortunately, you can get out of it.
The Real Solution For Working Fewer Hours Each Week
Working fewer hours requires a shift in mindset, valuing productivity over presence and energy over hours.
To shift your team away from exhausted 60-hour+ weeks, give them the resources to build the right reduced-hours framework. Provide the infrastructure, ongoing encouragement and discipline to make it possible.
• Set and communicate clear objectives and expectations to your team.
Clearly outline the expectations that accompany a shift to more energy-inspired work. Explain why you’re making changes and what you expect to see, then address their concerns head-on.
For example, you may tell your team members that you want everyone to stop scheduling meetings on Fridays. Having an entire weekday meeting-less can give people wide-open spaces for getting productive work done as well as reduce the number of time- and energy-draining meetings overall.
• Have a "less is more" mindset.
We encourage our clients (as appropriate to their business) to immediately drop up to 30% of meetings from their calendars. When people know their weekly meeting time is limited, they are forced into fewer and better meetings. The activity is a game-changer, provoking dialogue and cultivating a shared commitment to a value-over-hours mindset.
• Prioritize and compartmentalize.
You can do a little of everything in an unfocused way. You can allow work to run into all hours of your day.
Or, you could change the way you work, get more done and do it better. Prioritization and compartmentalization allow you to focus and do excellent work, then recover and rejuvenate. When you follow these guidelines, you have a better chance of getting into a flow state and being more productive, then feeling good about your time away from work as well.
• Maximize your team’s energy.
Your team members may embrace your energy and sustainability plans yet still default to old habits. It’s your responsibility as a leader to put the right infrastructure in place. Smooth the way for them by:
• Building in work breaks.
• Setting no-meeting timeframes.
• Creating an environment for focus.
• Educating them on the physical, emotional and mental benefits that come from managing energy differently.
• Developing sprint-recovery processes.
• Be accountable.
Real accountability doesn’t rely on long hours. Real accountability comes when teams develop norms around what they wish to achieve and how they want to work together.
A strong, trust-building team trust reduces reliance on hours tracking as shorthand for work. Mature scrum teams, for example, often see this phenomenon. As their team grows together and recognizes their reliance on each other’s work, productivity skyrockets and they turn out better work faster.
• Strive for role and goal clarity.
Evaluate whether the responsibilities each person carries are reasonable and sustainable. Commit to the necessary shifts to give them a workload they can succeed with and that plays a bigger-picture role.
The Bottom Line: Fewer Hours, More Intentionality
When you work fewer yet more meaningful hours, you’re more focused during the time you work. Your team is more equipped to think and act strategically. Your organization’s efforts are fueled with intentionality that’s just not there when people are counting hours like they’re earning an attendance badge.
What do you have to gain by building an infrastructure where your people work less?
• A team fueled by purpose and ready for sustained achievement and success.
• A team that does better, more thoughtful work because they’re empowered to create a better work product.
• A team that stays together, achieves more and develops a true sense of purpose and satisfaction around their work.
That’s the kind of team clients flock to and leaders dream of managing. And you can get there—it just takes purpose, energy and (hopefully) a little less time.
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