summary ofThe 4 Day WeekBook by Andrew Barnes, Stephanie Jones

first KEY POINT

4-day week: a revolutionary concept that could change the future of work

Flexible work arrangements (FWA), a.k.a., flextime, is a concept that began gaining traction in the last decade. It refers to any work arrangement outside the usual 40-hour week. Common FWAs include telecommuting, part-time work, remote work, and condensed workweeks. The closest thing to the 4-day week is part-time work where workers negotiate to work fewer days a week and receive less than the salaries of their full-time counterparts. The 4-day week is radically different from part-time work in that workers are allowed to work only four days a week but get paid 100% salaries provided they can put in 100% of the productivity level required of them.

Andrew Barnes got the idea for the 4-day week on a plane after reading an issue of the Economist. The issue reported two productivity pieces of research conducted in Canada and the United Kingdom. The studies showed that office workers were productive only 1.5 - 2.5 hours of the eight hours they should be working. Andrew developed a hypothesis that giving workers a free day off every week will make them more engaged, leading to increased productivity and profitability. But it was just a hypothesis, and he needed a way to test it.His organization, Perpetual Guardian, became the guinea pig of this innovative idea. He researched business leaders who may have tried the concept in the past but couldn't find any, so he knew there was a lot of work to do.Andrew wanted to try the hypothesis to see how it will go. He got the consent of other people in management then shared the idea with his employees. Two external researchers were recruited to make the trial more effective.They did it for two months. The result was outstanding. Today, Perpetual Guardian has implemented the 4-day week as part of their organization's policy.News media in New Zealand got wind of the success of their experiment and sought to interview Andrew about his idea. In social media terminology, the concept went “viral.” Today, it's being discussed in 75 countries, and governments of several nations are considering making the concept a law. Whether you're new to the 4-day week or not, in this summary, you will learn its incredible advantages to businesses and the world at large, how to implement it in your organization, and basic things to avoid to make the concept work for you.