In 2021, we’ve seen growing interest in the idea of a four-day workweek, with the governments of Spain, New Zealand, and Singapore openly considering adopting the idea and moving away from the traditional 40-hour working week. Companies across the world have also started showing more interest in the idea as a solution for a better work-life balance.
One of the latest companies to go ahead and implement the idea for the benefit of its workers is the fintech startup Bolt. The company’s CEO, Ryan Breslow, has recently announced that the startup will make a four-day workweek a permanent policy effective immediately, making it the first tech unicorn to adopt the idea.
Before deciding to implement the shift, the company conducted a three-month trial in which employees had Fridays off. The results of the trial were overwhelmingly positive — 94 percent of the participating employees said that they wanted the program to continue and 86 percent claimed they were more efficient with their time.
One thing that Breslow noted is that a four-day week doesn’t necessarily mean that employees can’t touch their computers or work during those three remaining days. “We’re minimizing the amount of time you have to be in meetings,” he said. “With the time you now have, if you think like a founder, you might want to go to a conference. You might want to work on personal development. You might want to spend time with your family.”
