Four-day work week. Russian experience

Hi, Habr! This article prompted me to write a wonderful story, as one New Zealand company worked for 8 weeks with three days off . And as we are proud of them.

Context

Last time, I’m worried about this topic: how can you not become a human-eating corporation from an excellent turquoise team? Still worry toxic teams, professional burnout and the achievement of happiness. In labor.

We figure out how to manage this and the first tests and experiments, of course, we put on ourselves. Obviously: we are engaged in HR in IT.
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so

Experiment: four-day work week.

Place actions: Moscow and Kiev. Distributed team.
Intellectual work. Self-sustaining commercial company.
Duration of the experiment: more than 100 employee-years.
Details under the cut.

Prerequisites

First, personal and honest: I am cyclical.
I can spark two days. On the third - I can hardly speak.
Not treated. Constructive feature.
Observing colleagues and client groups shows that very few people of creative work are able to produce even efficiency.
And not everybody has a weekly cycle: five through two.

Therefore, the first task is to adjust the work schedule under the biorhythm.

The second task is to reduce the likelihood of professional burnout, that is, not to bring stress to chronic. Effective staff is not enough - to grow them for a long time.

And in general, they are nice people.

The third task. Make pauses in communication. Any team - annoying. Family weekends rarely leave room for solitude. And not every introvert is an extrovert.

The fourth task. Do not walk build. Those walking around the building have slender thoughts. We also need - different and creative. Therefore, we create an opportunity for employees to sometimes not go about their ranks. And how they will dispose of it - their business.

The last task. Get rid of the "scraps".

It is clear that one cannot do without visiting a public office during working hours. Especially for women, especially if there are children. So let it be time to visit such places. Or games with children.

As you understand, under the pressure of such arguments could not stand and - decided.

rules

The rules that we set for ourselves have changed and improved.
I give the latest working version.

1. A four-day work week for those who have worked for over a year.

Comment: for the year it is clear that people fit into our rhythm and technology.
And if it does not fit in, then it is no longer ours. The year is often the starting point for burnout.
A year later, people want some kind of preference.
But no caste and division into management and performers or whatever.

2. You can not work any day except Monday.

We have a weekly sprint. And all meetings are held on Monday.
And one more guarantee that everyone will finish the weekend on time.
We know: on Monday the most important thing is to start.

3. You can change your day, but in advance. Very advance. For two weeks.
Colleagues who plan to use you in their tasks should have time to restructure.

4. In the "non-working" working day - you have to work.
At least half a day. Do not need anymore. And be in touch all day.
It works like this: everyone knows - he is in touch. Mail sees. Need to call.
And they did not call themselves for no reason.

5. If the week was short in itself - due to the production calendar - then “freemen” was canceled.

There is another logic: in the short week the competitors went into office sleep mode - which means that the odds should be used. Enjoyed.

Of course, salaries, bonuses and other cookies had no effect.

It's all. Simple, understandable, transparent. (And only half a year was spent on tuning the rules).

How it works

For me. Personally and personally.

I took myself Wednesday. And that means - two mini-sprints for two days, for which you do not pay too much with your health, even if two days are at a very high rate.

Now imagine: you can walk with your child to museums, when there is no one in them, you can ride on free slopes, you can swim on deserted beaches ...
And you can safely work on a large document and think about the eternal.

Yes, customers, hearing the singing of the nightingale in the tube - envied. And we have them - they seduced.
From the way of office and slim. Another standard of living. And the pleasure of it.

On employees, it worked like this:

People really worked out their half day. Note: without control. In touch were. Mail looked. Cloud services used. Customers are not dynamic.

results

Periods of group procrastination decreased. Dramatically.

In a normal office on a five-day week, Monday morning, after lunch, Fridays, an hour upon arrival and an hour before leaving is absolutely not a productive time.

According to our measurements, the average loss (in a non-toxic) office team is about 10 hours per week. For everyone.

That is: at the declaration of the 40-hour week, the staff usually works 30 hours.

When we declare the 36 hour week, we get about the same 30 hours.
And another quality of life, or "work-life balance."

Revenue, profitability and customer satisfaction did not fall.

Requests (with very few exceptions) are over.
Goals achieved.

Three more points

1. Some employees did not use this privilege. For different reasons.
2. When the next crises occurred in our economy, we decided to return to the normal five-day period. But they could not. Perhaps this is the main disadvantage of the described approach.
3. Resigning from such a schedule, as you know, harder. Therefore, the turnover has become less.
4. People suffered and suffered. Joke.

This ends the first story about the “fifth paradigm”. About happiness in labor.