I tried it as a studio manager on a game project. Thought I'd just give it a go for 2 weeks to see how it went (all employees were on salary, regular 8:30 to 4:30 was maintained).
After 2 weeks, the results spoke for themselves. People were happier. Milestones were being hit like clockwork. Productivity was certainly up by every metric. I just let it keep going. Then HQ stepped in and ended it, thinking I was completely crazy.
I showed them the results. They did not care. At all. They paid for bodies to be in seats five days a week and that's what they're gonna have.
This reminds me that the only place I've worked that was more interested in results than playing dominance games like that was organized crime adjacent.
It’s more productive on a per hour basis but that does not mean more total work gets done in a week. It just means there are diminishing returns on more hours, not necessarily negative returns. I’m saying this as someone who would support 4 day work weeks. I think it makes sense for society, but I don’t think companies would really be more productive on a total weekly output basis.
8
u/cjo20 17d ago
There's a growing body of evidence that four 8-5 days with the same monthly pay is more productive than five 8-5 days (or four 10-hour days)