4 Day Week Global among TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies
The movement founded by Aucklanders Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart (pictured) to reduce the working week, improve the health of employees while maintaining productivity has been named by TIME magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential companies.
TIME’s citation records that “The Monday-to-Friday grind is outdated, argues the nonprofit behind a raft of studies of what happens when workers drop a day without losing pay. Productivity doesn’t fall, says CEO Dale Whelehan, because rested people perform better. During a six-month pilot last year, attrition went down and revenues held; 92% of participating businesses said they’d stick with the schedule.
“The group’s studies also inspired legislation: an Australian Senate committee called for its government to back a trial, and in March U.S. Congressman Mark Takano reintroduced a 32-hour-workweek bill. Future research will focus on implications for sustainability, equity, and civic participation, says Whelehan: “We’ve only scratched the surface.”
Original article by Jeremy Gantz, TIME Magazine, June 21, 2023.
