We all know that working longer hours doesn't automatically mean getting more done -- in fact, it often can mean getting
less done, as workers zone out and burn out, sitting at desks and trying to force themselves to be more productive.
Counterintuitively,
working fewer hours can actually yield more results and higher productivity. As many people moved away from office desks during the pandemic and to working from home, monitoring employees' hours logged became harder -- and yet, productivity was still astoundingly high.
That's why many big-name companies and even many lawmakers are beginning to embrace the 4-day workweek! Just recently, members of the California state legislature
began considering a bill that would create a 32-hour workweek for large companies. If California, the fifth-largest economy in the world, were to adopt this groundbreaking new policy, it could change workers' lives for the better.
Sign the petition to urge California lawmakers to create a 4-day workweek and make workers' lives better!Earlier this year, a major tech company in the Silicon Valley area, Bolt, decided to permanently institute a 4-day workweek after testing the idea out for three months. During those months, Bolt's leaders discovered that employees became more focused, more intentional, more efficient, and ultimately more successful. Naturally, workers were happier, too!
These results convinced the CEO that permanently embracing a shorter workweek wouldn't only be good for the employees -- but also for the whole company.In fact, multiple other companies have also started testing out this model with their own employees, including electronics giant Toshiba, Kickstarter, Shake Shack, and more. On an even larger scale, countries including Iceland, Spain, Scotland, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and Belgium have even implemented this idea.
There are many benefits to valuing employees and not just trying to wring more hours out of them. These benefits include improved mental health (and physical health, too), better work/life balance, greater drive and commitment at work, and increased flexibility around child-rearing.
The pandemic has taught us that many things we assumed were true about working simply aren't true. We don't have to keep doing things the same way they've been done for decades. As U.S. Congressman Mark Takano has stated, "After a nearly two-year-long pandemic that forced millions of people to explore remote work options, it's safe to say that we can't -- and shouldn't -- simply go back to normal, because normal wasn't working."
We need a 4-day workweek. Workers need this. Our families need this. Even companies need this.
Sign the petition to tell the California legislature that a shortened workweek would benefit everyone! Lawmakers must pass AB2932, the 32-hour workweek bill!