While a
Global fundraising platform Kickstarter was among 33 companies that conducted a six-month pilot from April through October of 2022, testing what a reduced workweek would look like for their workforce. Partnering with 4 Day Week Global, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping businesses move to a 32-hour workweek, Kickstarter worked to give its employees a three-day weekend, with most of its workers now only working Monday through Thursday.
"If you can give people a whole day back, they can spend more time with their families or resting or volunteering," says Jon Leland, chief strategy officer at Kickstarter. "That is just so immensely valuable to everyone in the company."
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Leland found himself looking into the four-day workweek at the onset of the pandemic, as it became increasingly clear that there was no escaping burnout. When he learned about 4 Day Week Global's mission, he knew he wanted Kickstarter on board.
"The unproductive work that people do at work is just trying to find moments to rest their brain and recharge," he says. "Work was taking a great deal of our time without much productivity. It just made sense to reduce the hours people were working."
4 Day Week Global runs on the 100-80-100 rule: workers get 100% pay working only 80% of the workweek, while maintaining 100% productivity. Every company approaches the 32-hour workweek differently, with some employers allowing workers to choose where they cut those eight hours for their week and other employers keeping their entire workforce on a universal schedule.
Kickstarter went with the latter, making an exception for its community support team, which addresses customer questions or tech issues that crop up 24/7. So Kickstarter expanded outside support as well as their in-house staff so team members could take turns taking weekend shifts.
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Additionally, if there is a public holiday that falls on a Monday, Kickstarter workers will have a four-day weekend, but then work Tuesday through Friday and only get Saturday and Sunday off.
While Kickstarter has mostly adapted to what a
"That process was actually really valuable because it revealed what functions [of Kickstarter] are essential and what doesn't add any value to the company," he says. "Moving to a four-day workweek requires everyone to be honest about inefficiencies — but it also motivates everyone to address them."
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Kickstarter hired additional talent for teams that were understaffed, which turned out to be much easier now they had a four-day schedule. In fact, Kickstarter saw great strides in recruitment and retention in the same year that millions of workers quit in the U.S.
"We just don't see employee attrition anymore — and losing a good person on a team often sets that team back several months," says Leland. "The four-day workweek has also just had such a profound impact on our ability to hire faster and hire really good people."
On top of that, Leland has noticed a jump in productivity, and he isn't alone. On average, companies that joined this pilot saw an 8% increase in revenue during the six-month period.
"If I were to be a purely profit-maximizing person, which I'm not, I would say this pilot has been successful," says Leland. "We have been much more effective as an organization, and the reason for that seems to be that people are happier."
As a self-described "chronic worker," Leland feels that he can better manage his time and energy now that he gets a day he can use for himself. Sometimes that means doing a bit of work, but unlike with a two-day weekend, Leland doesn't feel that catching up on work or errands defines his weekend anymore.
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"Even if I have to do some work over the weekend, I can choose to take Friday and go surfing and just recharge," he says. "As an executive, it's been great because even though I work more than 32 hours, I'm still working fewer hours than before."
Leland underlines that reducing the workweek has had a profound effect on everyone's life. And while the company doesn't universally only work 32 hours, employees are spending less time on work and more time on themselves and their loved ones — and for Leland, that's the most rewarding part of the entire pilot.
"When thinking about the role of the workplace in people's lives, there are just a lot more important things like family and being civically engaged," he says. "I strongly encourage leaders to explore the four-day workweek. There's enough evidence that it works."
