Delivering Happiness CEO Jenn Lim Shares Insights About Four-Day Workweeks

You’ve likely heard more about the four-day workweek concept lately, and discussions about the pros and cons of a shortened workweek undoubtedly will increase in the coming years.

Recently, more than 70 British companies started testing a four-day workweek. Halfway through the six-month trial, most respondents said there has been no loss in productivity – and some actually reported significant improvement.

Other research has shown that having a four-day workweek can include cost savings, increased productivity, and employee retention. Some disadvantages, however, can include scheduling challenges, reduced productivity, and added stress.

Jenn Lim, CEO of Delivering Happiness and Wall Street Journal-bestselling author of Beyond Happiness, will tell you that four-day workweeks can provide a sense of flexibility and autonomy that is crucial to happiness and career satisfaction.

In 2017, Lim was selected to be on the Global Happiness Council of Work and Wellbeing and in 2020, Delivering Happiness (DH) was placed on the Inc. 5000 list, becoming one of the fastest-growing private companies in the US. Prior to DH, Lim helped create the world’s first series of Culture Books at Zappos.com, where she consulted for eight years.

Jenn Lim

Today, Lim shares these additional insights, thoughts and advice about four-day workweeks:

Question: In addition to the research supporting a four-day workweek, why do you believe more companies should adopt this practice?

Lim:

It allows for more control/autonomy (freedom to create people’s best life).
It provides a sense of control/autonomy that helps people’s wellbeing/happiness so they can be more productive and perform better.
It allows time for people to nurture their (work/life) greenhouse as they grow others.
And, it allows time for play/flow/creativity to surface (our brains need time to unplug)!

Question: What is it going to take to convince more companies to try a four-day workweek?

Lim:

To understand first that productivity is NOT lost but actually gained. (data: Microsoft Japan increased sales by 40%).
On the flipside — it’s not the answer for all culture issues or work/life balance questions! So, it may not work for every organization.
The real answer lies in listening to your employees and creating a strong cultural foundation that allows for flexibility for them to create work/life harmony.
The approach should always be about testing what works and measuring what matters.

Question: How best should a company start or trial a four-day workweek?

Lim:

If it’s possible for your industry/organization (for some it is not), then I’d suggest starting with a survey to see if this is something your employees even want (and how they would want it).
It may actually be stressful for them to work four days instead of five days.
Or maybe this is something they are searching for in their next job and is easily doable at your organization.

Question: What are the downsides to a four-day workweek? And, how best should a leader meet those challenges?

Lim:

Understanding that some things will have to wait.
Not every email is urgent! We have to reframe our thinking while living in an instant world (setting boundaries and sticking to them).
It takes some reprioritization, organization and focus to get the most important things done, which may be a struggle for some team members as they adjust. Just like working from home during the pandemic, it was an adjustment, but productivity increased.

Question: How does a company blend a four-day workweek with flexibility of working from home and requiring employees be in the office certain days of the week?

Lim:

This conversation is really about designing a life that allows you to show up fully in work and life, grounded in purpose and values — then being transparent and inclusive across the organization.
At the foundation is what we’ve used as levers from the science of happiness for a decade! People crave control and the freedom to create their best life.
When the foundation is in place, the work will get done no matter the location or days!
And workplaces designed on old-school factory-style model/thinking are becoming obsolete. (the modern workplace needs to consider: remote/hybrid work, four-day workweek, purposeful organizations, belonging, diversity and inclusivity, accountability, alignment, etc.).

Comments

Why Your Middle Managers Are So Important

The book, Power To The Middle , shows how managers are the crucial link between a company’s ground floor and top brass. “Too often company leaders view middle managers in a negative light as expendable employees who can slow down productivity and overall strategy,” explain the book’s authors and McKinsey partners Bill Schaninger , Bryan Hancock , and Emily Field . “However, new KcKinsey research reveals that this outdated perspective needs to change and that well-developed managers are the strategy that companies must prioritize to succeed today,” they add. Most importantly, by the end of their book, the authors sum up their insights and provide a playbook that will help senior leaders let go of the command-and-control mindset that has hobbled their managers for so long. The authors define middle managers as the people who are at least once removed from the front line and at least a layer below the senior lead...

The 12 Ways Marriott Practices Good Leadership And Customer Service

The next time you stay at a Marriott hotel look in the nightstand drawer for Marriott's booklet that highlights its milestones and tells the Marriott story. In the booklet, you'll find the following 12 ways that Marriott practices good leadership AND customer service : Continually challenge your team to do better. Take good care of your employees, and they'll take good care of your customers, and the customers will come back. Celebrate your people's success, not your own. Know what you're good at and mine those competencies for all you're worth. Do it and do it now. Err on the side of taking action. Communicate. Listen to your customers, associates and competitors. See and be seen. Get out of your office, walk around, make yourself visible and accessible. Success is in the details. It's more important to hire people with the right qualities than with specific experience. Customer needs may vary, but their bias for quality never does. Elimin...

Don't Delay Tough Conversations With Your Employees

If you have an employee who needs to improve his/her performance don't delay the tough conversation with them. If you don't address the issue right now, the employee has little chance to improve, and you'll only get more frustrated. Most employees want to do a good job. Sometimes they just don't know they aren't performing up to the required standards. Waiting until the employee's annual performance appraisal to have the tough conversation is unhealthy for you and the employee. So, address the issue now. Sit down with your employee in a private setting. Look them in the eye. First, tell them what they do well. Thank them for that good work. Then, tell them where they need to improve. Be clear. Be precise. Ask them if they understand and ask them if they need any help from you on how to do a better job. Explain to them that your taking the time to have the tough conversation means you care about them. You want them to do better. You believe they can do better. ...

How To Survive, Reset And Then Thrive

“Uncertainty is here to stay. Rather than seeing it as an obstacle to overcome, integrate it into your strategic approach to invigorate your high-growth potential and outperform competition under any market condition,” explains Rebecca Homkes , author of the book, Survive, Reset, Thrive . “Most books aren’t honest enough about how hard it is to reset ,” adds Homkes. Yet, resetting and leaning into change is essential. “If you are ready to embrace change as a central element of your growth strategy, this book is for you.” Homkes’ book is a timely, comprehensive, and essential read for business leaders looking to take the next step toward ensuring high growth for their companies. The book brings together more than 15 years of Homkes working directly with high-growth companies of all sizes and across a wide variety of industries. Survive, Reset, Thrive (SRT) is a practical and innovative interconnected three-mode approach : Survive : Stabil...

My Favorite "Moral Of The Story" Tips From Harvey Mackay

I'm a big fan of best-selling author Harvey Mackay . He writes about business, sales and leadership and typically ends his articles with a moral of the story. Culled from his writings of the past few years, here are some of my favorites of his moral of the story endings: Change your thinking, change your life. It's not enough to know how to do things - you must know why you do them. If you live in the past, you won't have much of a future. If you want to outsmart the competition, you have to outthink the competition. Don't be afraid to make a decision. Be afraid not make a decision. What you learn on your first job will last through your last job. Minds are like parachutes - not much good unless they are open. If you can't be an expert, hire one. People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be. It only takes a little spark to ignite a great fire. Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing to do. Mackay's best-...

Discover Your True North And Internal Compass

In his book, True North , Bill George shows you how to discover your true north - your internal compass that guides you successfully through life. "Only when you discover your true north can you unlock your full potential as a leader and human being," explains George. In the book, published a couple weeks ago, George shares with you how to: Cultivate self-awareness Define your values Find the "sweet spots": of your motivated capabilities Build your support team and lead an integrated life Make the journey from "I' to "We" as an empowering leader Become a global leader Bill George George shares profiles and stories from more than 100 leaders who in their own words explain how they discovered their true north. He also explains the characteristics differences needed to be a leader in the Twenty-First Century versus the Twentieth-Century. Today's leaders, he says need to be: Purpose-drive versus charismatic Globally focused versus U. S.-centri...

How To Assess Your Organization's Risk Using The 5Cs

Within the first 100 days as a new leader in an organization, you'll want to assess your organization's risk . Authors George Bradt, Jayme A. Clark and Jorge Pedraza, in their book, The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan (third edition due out on October 10), suggest you do your assessment using the 5Cs : Customers : First line, customer chain, end users, influencers Collaborators : Suppliers, allies, government/community leaders Capabilities : Human, operational, financial, technical, key assets Competitors : Direct, indirect, potential Conditions : Social/demographic, political/government/regulatory, economic, market Use a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) as you examine each category if that helps.

4 Questions To Ask An Employee When He Quits

As a leader, it's critical that you understand the real reasons employees leave your company. To do that, you need to ask specific questions that may not be ones you currently include in your exit interviews. Fortunately, Richard Finnegan , shares in his book, Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad , four key questions you should include in your exit interviews : Why did you decide to leave us? Of all the things you've told me, what is the top thing that caused you to resign? It's great that you've found such a good opportunity, but why did you look? What one thing could we have done that would have caused you to stay? Your goal is to learn the most important leave reason rather than learn which three or five things contributed to your employee's decision to leave. The four questions above will help you learn the most important reason.

How To Drive Your Team To Value Beyond The Ordinary

"It takes more than encouraging words to get a team thinking beyond the ordinary," explains Jackie Barretta , author of the book, Primal Teams . She suggests you must help team members to redefine the purpose of their work with broader and more expansive thinking. Use certain pointed questions to guide a team toward a loftier view of their purpose. Specifically, Barretta recommends you as the leader ask the following purpose-broadening questions to encourage the team to think of providing value beyond the ordinary : What major contributions can our team make to the company's success? What do we do that makes our colleagues and customers happy? What does our work do to give our company a competitive advantage? What do we do that no one else can do? What legacy do we want to leave? What future possibilities excite us? What difference does our work make in the lives of others?

What's The Future Of Business By Brian Solis

Incredibly relevant. Highly visual. Timely. Enlightening. Instructive. Scary. These are all words I use to describe Brian Solis' new book, What's The Future (WTF) Of Business -- Changing The Way Businesses Create Experiences . You can likely already imagine that I consider this a must-read book for any business owner and any leader -- even leaders who manage businesses that don't directly connect with consumers. WTF is incredibly relevant and timely because Solis explores the non-stop transformation happening in business today, driven by new social and mobile technologies. The book is highly visual because it's the quality of a coffee-table style book, packed with compelling graphics, bright colors and a design that makes for easy reading -- all delivered on top-notch paper. And, it's enlightening and instructive , because the book delivers real-world examples that can guide you as you shape your business. Plus, WTF is scary . ...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog