A very controversial subject has invaded social networks, especially LinkedIn in recent times: the 4-day work week.
As an entrepreneur, I felt obliged to talk a little more about the subject. Because I think it’s quite relevant for this current moment.
In my view, I cannot say that I am for or against. After all, there are people who prefer to work more days, being less intense and there are those who prefer to work fewer days with more intensity.
Evaluating your productivity
What I think is that each person is more productive in a different way. For example, I’ve seen professionals here on LinkedIn saying that they prefer to work every day (that’s right, you didn’t read that wrong), but a little bit a day.
For example, someone might find it more motivating to work from 6 am to 8 am and from 4 pm to 6 pm, 7 days a week and deliver what was delegated, than to work a whole day from 6 am to 6 pm with an hour for lunch to have 3 days off.
However, there are people who think just the opposite. They like to keep 4 days of intense work and then enjoy three days of rest.
And there are still those traditional ones who believe that a 5-day week is good, working from 8h to 8h30 a day.
Freedom to choose
Given what I said above, what I believe is that companies need to break some paradigms and give freedom of choice to their employees. Like this?
Well, for those who work in sectors that allow deliveries such as: an art, an article, a campaign, or even close a sales volume determined as a goal, there is no need to control that person’s time.
The company simply needs to collect the result. For example: “A graphic designer needs to deliver 50 pieces of artwork a week”. That’s it, he doesn’t have to be stuck in that daily. He can be free to do his time.
Thus, he chooses between working 4 days, 5 days, in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon. Finally, this freedom to choose your own time will make you find the hours of greatest productivity.
Balance between personal and professional life
Given what I said, I believe that managers need to be open to this paradigm shift. It is no longer necessary to take the collaborator under your wing. Just let them deliver what you need.
It’s a huge mistake to believe that someone won’t work well just because they’re working from home, or because they’ve decided to work a little differently.
But of course, it is up to the manager to carefully assess how much a person can produce considering a workload that allows him to have his leisure time.
I believe that balance is everything in life, but everyone balances in their own way. Some are balanced by working fewer hours a day, for more days, and others are balanced by working fewer days more intensely. The choice is up to each one. Do you agree?
