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Silicon Valley is beta testing a four-day workweek

The tech industry is starting to adopt a four-day workweek in order to decrease burnout and increase productivity.

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four-day workweek // Illustration by Kate Walker

Silicon Valley is beta testing a four-day workweek

 

Future. The tech industry is starting to adopt a four-day workweek in order to decrease burnout and increase productivity… while keeping wages the same. As the Great Resignation rages, a large majority may start gravitating toward tech (or any other industry) that promises  them more free time outside of work.

Stay-home Friday
Tech companies are trying to disrupt the workweek.

  • Apparel e-commerce platform ThredUp started piloting a four-day workweek last year, which saw turnover drop by more than half and was a key reason why half of the employees hired last year wanted to work at the company.
  • One-click-checkout startup Bolt made a four-day workweek permanent this year, with 86% of employees saying the change has made them more productive and 84% saying their work-life balance improved.
    • Additionally, Bolt reported that the company is still hitting all of its performance targets.
  • And it’s not just the startups — Microsoft, Amazon, and Cisco have all piloted a four-day workweek in recent years.

Outside the U.S., nonprofit community organization 4 Day Week Global rallied 30 companies in the U.K. to give a four-day workweek a try.

Work for us for less
Even if the four-day workweek doesn’t work for every company, many are still reevaluating their schedules to woo workers.

  • Coinbase and Cisco added extra days off throughout the year.
  • Salesforce gave its employees a week off from meetings, while Bumble gave a week off entirely to curb burnout.
  • Crypto firm Circle overhauled how much vacation time workers could take off.

The change in time off comes as the tech and e-commerce industries have boomed during the pandemic… along with demand for more workers. Trade group CompTIA reported that the tech industry has been adding employees at a steady clip for the past 14 months.