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We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

beaconcrm.org

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Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#31

Post by willbw »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #22
kristiandupont wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that this wouldn't be favorable to you given your particular situation does not make it a "scam".

It does. They claim 80% of time but it's not true at all as I explained before. Not only that but the cost for the individuals is huge when going back to the office. You must not live in London to comment that.

I think its farcical to claim that a 4 day week is a 'scam' because you find it offensive for whatever reason. Its still an improvement on the 5 day week and something atypical. I am not sure what you think a 'scam' is but we have different definitions.

The number of people who are working from home will not be 100% nor will the number of companies working from home exclusively be 100%.

Given we have had limited time to run this experiment, perhaps it would be good if we didn't just jump to conclusions that working from home is the be all and end all. The office has had a pretty good run of productivity over the last century.

Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#32

Post by xnorswap »

sshah1983 wrote: post #19
xnorswap wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People aren't machines, they bend to their environment. Even without crunching extra hours per day, you can be essentially as productive with fewer working days per week if you are more focussed on the days do you do work.

Agreed but I’ve yet to hear the killer tactic for how a company gets every employee 100% focused 100% of the time. I think there are some roles that end up suffering. Like someone who is a product designer and now has to cram more creativity in fewer hours. Someone who is in inside or outside sales and has less time where they overlap with customers to perform demos and close deals. It may work - it may not work. The…

100% focussed 100% of the time is a strawman argument set up to fail, there's no killer tactic because it doesn't exist and no-one is arguing it does.

You literally don't have to cram in the hours, you can just work less, enjoy a healthier work/life balance and still be productive.

To argue otherwise is to suggest that we should all work 6 day weeks.

If you accept that working 5 day weeks has benefits over 6 day weeks then why not accept that 4 day weeks could have benefits too?

Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#33

Post by simonswords82 »

This is part of a wider scheme in the UK whereby 60 firms and 3000 employees are piloting 4 day weeks.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/apr/04/thousands-o...

From the article:

Employees from a wide range of businesses and charities are expected to take part in the scheme, which will run initially from June to December, including the Royal Society of Biology, the London-based brewing company Pressure Drop, a Manchester-based medical devices firm, and a fish and chip shop in Norfolk.

It comes as the push for companies to adopt a shorter working week – crucially with no loss of pay while aiming for higher productivity – gains momentum as a way of improving working conditions.

Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#34

Post by 5350-uiop-1130 »

howmayiannoyyou wrote: post #20

Quick refresher on productivity in economic terms: decreasing inputs = decreasing outputs UNLESS tech or technique improves. During supply and/or debt driven inflationary periods (eg. now), increased productivity = increased supply and/or decreased debt. What do these maxims of economics mean for a 4 day work week? At Beacon, nothing*. But implement this at Tyson Foods, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Waste Management, the…

5 day week, no-flex also has costs, it's a matter of value and perspective.

So what if productivity decreases by a few % if it means we all get better work life balance.

Change is not easy but over time equilibrium can be found which is not dependent on this paradigm of infinite growth.

Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#35

Post by aaaaaaaaaaab »

tharax wrote: post #24
howmayiannoyyou wrote: post #20

Quick refresher on productivity in economic terms: decreasing inputs = decreasing outputs UNLESS tech or technique improves. During supply and/or debt driven inflationary periods (eg. now), increased productivity = increased supply and/or decreased debt. What do these maxims of economics mean for a 4 day work week? At Beacon, nothing*. But implement this at Tyson Foods, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Waste Management, the…

That's why in my next start-up, we're making sure that each employee works 168 hours a week. We believe that maximising inputs is the only way to get results.

Hustle grindset!!!

Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#36

Post by dtech »

howmayiannoyyou wrote: post #20

Quick refresher on productivity in economic terms: decreasing inputs = decreasing outputs UNLESS tech or technique improves. During supply and/or debt driven inflationary periods (eg. now), increased productivity = increased supply and/or decreased debt. What do these maxims of economics mean for a 4 day work week? At Beacon, nothing*. But implement this at Tyson Foods, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Waste Management, the…

> implement this at [...] and you get 2-6% productivity declines

This is the assertion this whole argument hangs on. I'd challenge it. At a farm or assembly line probably, I highly doubt it in knowledge work.

Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#37

Post by papito »

pattle wrote: post #3

Four day work weeks sound good but since being remote from 2019 I could never go back to working in an office. Seems like a case of one step forward, two steps back

I actually WANT to go to the office, especially when it's nice out. My body is craving the walking and the activity, and the positive stress of being in a different environment is actually helping my mood significantly. I've become puffy, lazy, and slow.

But not 5 days a week, no.

Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#38

Post by michaelmior »

JamesAdir wrote: post #29

I really can't wrap my head around this four-day week trend. If the organization is focused on KPI's so why does it matter if people work one day or four-days? If the organization is focused on time spend no work (either in office or remotely) how can work be done in 80% of the time? Really don't understand how it works in day-to-day. It resembles the unlimited vacation days policy which was later found out to be unh…

> If the organization is focused on KPI's so why does it matter if people work one day or four-days?

Arguably it matters in how you KPIs are set. I think it's reasonable to expect a full time employee to work more than one day a week. If you can meet all your KPIs with everyone working one day a week, then maybe you're aiming too low. Of course, if you require everyone to work 60 hour weeks to hit KPIs, that's an even bigger problem.

Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#39

Post by christophilus »

howmayiannoyyou wrote: post #20

Quick refresher on productivity in economic terms: decreasing inputs = decreasing outputs UNLESS tech or technique improves. During supply and/or debt driven inflationary periods (eg. now), increased productivity = increased supply and/or decreased debt. What do these maxims of economics mean for a 4 day work week? At Beacon, nothing*. But implement this at Tyson Foods, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Waste Management, the…

There’s a balance somewhere. I guarantee my 8/4 workers will outperform your 24/7 workers. Your workers will be worthless 20 hours into their eternal shift, and dead from sleep exhaustion after a few days.

It’s obvious that the relationship is not as simple as one input, one output.

If you work your employees 8/5, and I do the same, but with a gym break with a company-provided trainer, my employees will work fewer hours than yours, but I’d bet my productivity will win in the long run.

This 4 hour work week experiment is along these lines. It’s not obvious to most of us how it will end or what impact it will have on productivity.

Re: We're moving to a four-day work week at Beacon

#40

Post by PeterStuer »

howmayiannoyyou wrote: post #20

Quick refresher on productivity in economic terms: decreasing inputs = decreasing outputs UNLESS tech or technique improves. During supply and/or debt driven inflationary periods (eg. now), increased productivity = increased supply and/or decreased debt. What do these maxims of economics mean for a 4 day work week? At Beacon, nothing*. But implement this at Tyson Foods, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Waste Management, the…

Beacon, and I bet the majority of the audience here, is a knowledge worker environment. You don't shed out x widgets per hour. Your result is highly variable as it involves creating bespoke, unique or novel (in a broad sense) solutions to various challanges in development. In non-rote work mood has an extreme impact on results.

Rote assembly line tasks in a warehouse or factory setting, even there you will see a ramp up mistakes and accidents as the hours get beyond a certain point. The chances of these ever have been "work from home"are slim to begin.

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