Four-Day Week Experiment Halted After Employees Secretly Worked Fridays
Workforce management company Safeguard Global piloted a four-day workweek in 2023 with the goal of improving recruitment and retention. However, the experiment faltered as employees secretly worked on Fridays.
Safeguard Global, a workforce management company, has ceased its experiment with a four-day workweek after discovering employees were secretly working on Fridays. The initiative, launched in 2023, aimed to boost recruitment and employee retention but led to unintended consequences.
CEO and founder Bjorn Reynolds stated the outcome was not the desired company culture. Some employees extended their workdays to preserve Fridays as off days, while others used Friday to catch up on tasks secretly. Those strictly adhering to the four-day schedule reported feeling they were falling behind.
The Austin-based company has since transitioned to a flexible model, offering its approximately 1,000 employees the choice of their own working hours and days. Reynolds described this as a culture of "freedom and choice," emphasizing that employees can structure their work to achieve necessary outcomes, whether in four days or by adjusting a five-day schedule.
The four-day workweek has become a prominent topic in workplace discussions, with numerous companies globally testing shorter schedules. While proponents cite potential benefits like improved well-being and productivity, Safeguard Global's experience highlights implementation challenges. Reynolds now advocates for focusing on outcomes rather than hours, with the company utilizing three performance metrics to track employee productivity.