The essay is based on a conversation with Mick Mahady, a software engineer from Ireland who has been working a four-day week since his company, Buffer, began running a pilot program in May 2020. It has been edited for clarity and length.
The energy levels for me are what it is.
It is coming in on a Monday and feels like it was a great three-day rest.
I don't feel like I'm tired. I do not feel like I am close to burnout. I don't think I need another day.
I was surprised that we took a four-day workweek, but also surprised. It was a busy time for me as a software engineer. We had a product launch coming up that was going to be chaotic. Outside of work, there was a lot going on, but also inside of work, there was a lot going on.
I was worried because we had big goals and projects, and I didn't know how we were going to achieve them.
The communication from the leadership team emphasized that if we end up with a loss, but people are feeling better for it, that is a win for us.
I took Wednesday off when we started the four-day work week, so I worked Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
It felt weird because a lot of other people would be working Wednesday, so things would still be happening when I got back on Thursday. I would be catching up on what happened on Wednesday instead of just working.
Things were easier once we switched to Friday off. It was easy to switch off because I knew everyone else was off and people weren't going to be looking for my input on things. I came back on Monday feeling like I had taken a week off, but I hadn't missed anything because everyone else was off.
We make sure that people take their four-day work week. I would have colleagues make sure that nobody was checking Slack and nobody was commanding codes that day. Managers would be checking in to make sure that you took the time off.
Friday is an overflow day. No one will say you can't work that day if you feel distracted or want to catch up on things. There will be no meetings or wider company communications. I haven't worked on Friday since we came back from the New Year, I think the last Friday I worked was in September. I see Friday as a day off, but also as a safety net.
I do not find myself working later. I thought I would have to work later on the weekends, in the evenings, to make up for that missing day, that was my initial fear, was I going to be working later on the weekends, in the evenings, to make up for that missing day? I am very strict about logging off at 6 p.m.
Even if you discount the fact that it is one less day, we probably have fewer meetings than we did before. If those four days are still filled with meetings, it will be hard to get work done.
Before the four-day work week, I would have had some more casual chats with teammates, and we also had more regular company-wide meetings. The four-day work week has resulted in a decrease in the cadence of those. I still meet a lot of people, but the bubble is probably a lot smaller.
One of the things I miss about the five-day work week is being able to connect with more people and not feel like it was going to impact productivity.
I love that extra day. It would have to be really special for me to want to leave Buffer and go somewhere else. It would be difficult to switch, but not impossible.
It used to kick in where you were not taking enough breaks, you were not taking self-care, and you felt like you had to put another hour in just to get on.
You find those answers come quicker because you are more rested, your brain is operating better, and you are happier. People do their best work when they are happy.
Do you work four days a week and want to tell your story? Email ahartmans@insider.com.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
