“In 2,000 weekends you’ll be dead.”
Think about what you did last weekend. Did you do something worthwhile? Ryan Carson, CEO of Treehouse, has build his company culture around a 4-day workweek. Instead of working the typical 5-day, 9-5, his employees clock-in at 9 and leave at 5:30 everyday.
In this on-demand age, how can a company get by working only 4, 8-hour days? Productivity tools. “We use a lot of Asana,” Ryan said at Collision. “It gets rid of the email crap.” Additionally, his company uses Hipchat to supplement in-person chats.
Using tools to streamline workflow and keep teams focused, Treehouse is able to increase efficiency in another way: employee retention. “We’ve had employees try to be poached by bigger companies like Facebook. They ask recruiters if they still have a 5-day work week, and they do. They hate that question.”
Ryan recognizes the conflict risk with clients by working an unconventional workweek. “You may lose a few clients, but they’re likely the ones who’d drain your resources anyway,” he said. The risk of losing a few bad apples is worth the loyal, productive employees a 4-day work week creates.
Any sized company can implement the 4-day workweek. The biggest factor is consistency. You have to have every part of your team living the 4-day week, even leadership. “I leave every day at 5:30.”