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Five US companies with a four-day workweek

employees

Workers are concerned about job security even in a tight labor market

A new bill has been introduced in California which gives 3.6 million people the option to have a four-day workweek without wage cuts and longer hours.

The aim is to change the working week from 40 hours to 32 hours.

Some businesses across the US have already trialed this in recent years and have had encouraging outcomes.

READ MORE: CALIFORNIA IS TRYING TO INTRODUCE A FOUR-DAY WORKWEEK – HERE’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

Bolt

Based in San Francisco, Bolt undertook a four-day workweek in autumn 2021 and chose to make this permanent after trying it out for three months.

The founder Ryan Breslow tweeted:

"I believe a four-day workweek isn't an 'if' for most companies; it's a when.

In true Bolt spirit, we didn't wait around to follow others—we put our money where our mouth is.

I'm honored to lead the company this way and can't wait to share the results along the way."

According to Ryan, the trial had demonstrated that employees become much more productive, and it boosted their well-being and engagement.

Basecamp

The software company, which is based in Chicago, has a policy in which employees work four days a week with 32 hours in summer.

This applies from March 1 to August 31.

The firm has been doing this since 2008 and calls it "summer hours."

Kris Knives, an employee, says:

"Keeping Summer Hours hones our prioritization skills and breathes fresh energy into our work.

"Removing a day each week forces you to prioritize the work that really matters, and let the rest go.

It's not about working faster, but learning to work smarter."

Bunny Studio

The platform introduced the first trial in the summer of 2020, and now, it's continuing the experiment.

Maika Hoekman, head of people operations, said:

"We wanted to create a long weekend or at least one extra day within the week where our team members could breathe."

The trial delivered promising results, so much so that the business continued to grow its revenues, KPIs, and the number of clients.

Knowledge Futures Group

Knowledge Futures Group, based in Massachusetts, is an independent non-profit organization that produces infrastructure made as a partnership between MIT Media Lab and MIT Press.

The firm trailed a 32-hour workweek in July 2021.

A spokesperson from the company told Newsweek:

"Our trial went very well, and it is now a permanent feature of our company. We have seen durable decreases in self-reported hours worked, increases in job satisfaction and feelings of connection to coworkers," together with "sustained or even increased productivity, despite working fewer hours."

Since the shorter workweek has been enforced, the business has said it exceeded most of its goals for fundraising and user growth.

Shake Shack

Shake Shack has its headquarters in New York.

The business started trialing a four-day workweek without decreasing employees' wages in 2019; however, the program was put on hold in September 2021 for general managers due to covid.

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