We are piloting a 4-Day Workweek: Learn Why

The Climate Advocacy Lab is excited to pilot a 4-Day Workweek because we believe in the sustainability of our people as well as the planet. The Lab team feels deeply privileged to do work in service of our mission: to equip the US climate movement with the evidence-based insights, skills, and connections needed to build durable power and win equitable solutions.

However (as you all know well) working in the climate movement means we absorb an extreme level of anxiety-provoking news and grapple daily with existential questions about our place in this world and long-term viability of our planet. These threats and anxieties are even greater, of course, for our friends and colleagues working on the frontlines, dealing with the pain and trauma of too many intersecting crises. The ongoing pandemic has forced all of us to re-evaluate the boundaries between work and rest — as well as the balance between professional development and professional sustainability. As a result of exploring different models for how the Lab works toward our mission that allows us to consider the long-term health of our team, we have decided to pilot a Monday-Thursday four-day workweek (4DWW).

WHY A FOUR-DAY WORKWEEK?

The decision to move to a 4DWW has come after a great deal of thought, research, and reflection, especially considering what it means to be a virtual “always-on” support team serving 1400+ organizations that are in constant campaign mode. We know that climate work is needed more now than ever. But we also know that building resilience through investments in mental health, work-life balance, and rest is essential to making progress over the long term.

The 40-hour work week has not always been the dominant model of work, let alone of salaried work in the US. HR experts around the world know that adding more hours to a day or a week doesn’t mean you get more productivity or even better results. The answer to deploying our human resources toward solving the climate crisis isn’t to burn people out, and it certainly isn’t to force all workers into an arbitrary number of hours. The Lab staff works hard, but we also strive to work intelligently and efficiently. We also want to always follow our own advice in making decisions based on research and data, and not inertia or existing norms.

THE PILOT

We started the 4DWW pilot on May 2nd. There are several models for implementing a 4DWW and the Lab has chosen one that does not reduce anyone’s salary, or workload but also does not require expansion of Monday-Thursday workdays to 10-hour days. 

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE LAB TEAM

Our team will evaluate our goals, talk with stakeholders, and examine our work plans and obligations in preparation for the pilot. The Lab may reduce work that isn’t directly related to mission attainment. It may mean our staff participates in fewer external meetings, becoming more disciplined about what we attend and for how long. It may mean we become more efficient with our time, with shorter time windows or less frequent calls. It may mean we do work asynchronously more often instead of defaulting to Zoom meetings. In our pursuit to build power in the climate movement, we don’t just want to do things right – we want to do the right things. So this shift will mean being laser-focused on delivering on our goals within the parameters of a 4DWW.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE LAB COMMUNITY

We will officially be closed on Fridays during our pilot window, and potentially, indefinitely. This does not mean we will produce less or be any less committed to our partners and programs. The Lab community may notice a shift in how our team works, and we ask for your patience and curiosity as we try this out.

THE ROLL-OUT

Phase I Assess

Interviews and research on this new work paradigm took place in 2021 to prepare for this potential shift.

Phase II Anticipate

In early 2022, we discussed as a team any needed shifts in our:

• commitments
• programs
• job descriptions
• workflows
• work plans
• organizational goals and strategic plan to anticipate challenges and opportunities

Phase III Announce

We inform stakeholders of the decision, timeline, rationale, and process for receiving feedback. We had discussions with our board and fiscal sponsor earlier this year, and we are notifying the Lab community with this newsletter.

Phase IV Adopt

The three-month pilot will be implemented from May 2nd to August 2nd.

Phase V Evaluate

At the end of the pilot period, we will determine based on the experience and feedback of staff, stakeholders, and community members whether this system is a good fit for our organization or not. We are committed to keeping an open mind and also being honest about what worked and what didn’t. We will then decide if the 4DWW, or an iteration of it, makes sense to implement permanently. We will report out to the Lab community where we’ve landed and what we learned through this experience.

The Lab likes to innovate and learn, and we want to lead by example and share our experiences across the nonprofit and climate sector so that our changing movement also accommodates a changing workplace. If your organization has already moved to a 4DWW, we’d love to hear from you about what has worked and what hasn’t. If you are interested in learning more about this decision, including our background research and rationale, please also feel free to reach out!

FAQs

Does this mean your team will simply condense your work hours into 4 days (e.g. four ten-hour days)?

No. Employers who have tried implementing a 4DWW by using the compressed time frame have often found that worker stress increased and morale decreased. We will use this information to try the more successful model of simply lobbing off a day, with the same workload and pay, but empowering employees to find efficiencies in order to get the same amount of work completed.

Have you considered simply shortening each day to 6 hours instead of eliminating Friday work?

Yes, we considered this. We believe our pilot experiment will be more successful by giving employees a three-day weekend instead of shortening each day. Because we work across multiple zones and expect salary employees to be available to each other and the organization during the week, we don’t think shortening workdays will actually work.

Is the Lab doing this for financial reasons?

No; Staff salaries will stay the same. We don’t currently rent office space, so this will not save us money on rent or human resources. This decision is purely about valuing our staff, valuing personal time, and hopefully making the Lab an even more desirable place to work.

What do you anticipate being the biggest challenge?

We think this shift can actually be stressful to attempt if not planned for appropriately. Trying to get 5 days of work done in 4 days can be very difficult when others are counting on you for deadlines and deliverables. The single biggest change will likely be the number of meetings we agree to and how long we stay in those meetings. We also believe that employees can begin taking more personal appointments or tasks on Fridays so they have Monday through Thursday purely dedicated to Lab deliverables.