It's DO-BE Time

In the second part of the conversation with Banks, Tony and Brian explore the importance of bringing the entire workforce into the preparation phase, Uncharted’s approach to optimization, the importance of piloting a 4-day work week before committing to it, and the organization’s proactive outreach to key constituents prior to launching their pilot. Banks discusses Uncharted’s experience as a “4-day work week gym” with the company continuing to work on their fitness as they continue to learn to de-prioritize and re-prioritize and highlights the statistically significant achievement of their 4-day work week goals.

Uncharted, a social impact accelerator, is one of the early adaptors of a 4-day work week. In this episode, Banks Benitez, Co-Founder and CEO, joins Tony and Brian to discuss their journey from a (somewhat) traditional 5-day work week to today. Banks discusses the criteria that were set out for success and the 30-day “pre-mortem” period between the announcement to the staff and the launch of a 90-day pilot. Uncharted made the 4-day work week company policy in September of 2020.

When this podcast was first released under a different title in September 2020, the Great Resignation wasn’t on anyone’s radar even though the seeds had been planted. But even then, Deutser Founder and CEO Brad Deutser recognized the need for business owners and leaders to “step back so we can look forward.” The key messages Brad brought to that discussion are even more critical today. They include the importance of leadership vulnerability, honesty, and willingness to connect at a deeply human level. Step back to look forward this holiday weekend and listen to Brad, Tony, and Brian discuss how to redefine your organization in a way that will challenge the pull of the Great Resignation.

The conversation continues as Joe, Tony, and Brian counter the perceived rigidity of a 4 Day Work Week. As Joe explains, "4-day work week" is a metaphor for more flexibility with a commitment of 100% of pay and 80% of the existing workweek, in exchange for 100% of the current productivity. This calls for business owners, leaders, and managers at all levels to define success and the metrics required to measure success before making this shift. It also calls for using the 100/80/100 model as a lever to focus the conversation with employees on how to maintain productivity while reducing the work week. As Joe says, “This is where we see the magic happen.”

Joe O’Connor, a Research Fellow at Cornell University on Workweek Time Reduction, Coordinator with the US team of the 4 Day Week Pilot, and Chair of the 4 Day Week Ireland, joins Tony and Brian to explore the intersection of the Great Resignation with the 4 Day Work Week movement. In Part 1, Joe discusses how in Ireland they were able to bring business, government, and unions to the table to build coalitions that are collaborating to develop an approach to work that is better for workers, for workers families', for business, and for the environment. Joe also challenges the wisdom of US multi-nationals that make working 12-14 hours a day “a badge of honor.”

As the leader of the 4 Day Week movement in the U.K., Joe Ryle has worked with businesses, unions, and governmental agencies. In this conversation with Tony and Brian, Joe shares some of the insights on the successful – and unsuccessful – implementation of a 4-day work week that he has gained from his own experience, as well as from others both in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe. As we hear over and over, Joe emphasizes the importance of a focus on productivity and profitability and the positive evidence of the 4-day work week’s contribution to both.

David, Tony, and Brian continue the conversation, exploring the pandemic-driven shifts that are taking root and those that are not. The Great Resignation has made clear that the power dynamic between employers and employees has shifted, making it increasingly important that leaders ask better questions and deeply listen to the answers. The conversation concludes with David describing “the three C’s” that business leaders need to succeed in the journey “from now to next.”

David Nour, global consultant on strategic business relationships, joins Tony and Brian for a far-ranging conversation that is critical for business owners and leaders to hear as they face the Great Resignation. Among the topics addressed in Part 1 of this two- part podcast are the importance of the interplay between relationship and business; the shifting expectations and positional power of employees as we come out of quarantine and face what “return to work” means; the interplay between the personal, team, organizational, and social; moving from work-life balance to work-life blending; and the role of a flexible 4-day work week in addressing the Great Resignation.

The conversation on the global 4-Day Week movement continues with an exploration of the shifting relationship between employees and employers that is fueling the Great Resignation. Charlotte, Tony, and Brian address questions such as “How do we measure productivity?” and “How do we conduct performance reviews?” The importance of engaging the workforce in designing the shift to a 4-day work week has shown to be a powerful team-building exercise. Also surfaced are important insights into the important mindset shifts that are essential to successfully implementing a 4-day work week in your organization. The US 4-Day Week movement is also introduced.

Charlotte Lockhart, Co-Founder and CEO of 4-Day Week Global joins Tony and Brian to discuss the intersection of the Great Resignation and the world-wide movement to shorten the work week. In the first part of this two-part podcast, Charlotte describes how she and Andrew Barnes successfully implemented the 4-Day Week in Perpetual Guardian and some of the critical lessons they learned. Like the Do-Be’s 4-Day Work Week, the global 4-Day Week movement is not to be taken literally. It is an approach to increasing productivity and profitability while reducing work hours and has to be custom designed to fit the organization, it’s clients, and its employees. A shorter work week, as envisioned by Charlotte, Andrew, Tony, and Brian is a key element in addressing the factors driving the Great Resignation.