In 1908, a New England cotton mill instituted a 5-day workweek.
The move inspired others to follow suit over the next 30 years until the Fair Labor Standards Act made 2-day weekends official in 1938.
Now, over a century later, some tech companies are shaving another day off the workweek, per Inc.
… just made its 4-day workweek permanent after a 3-month trial. In a companywide survey following the trial, Bolt employees noted several benefits to the new schedule:
While many have been quick to praise the move as a generous perk for Bolt employees, CEO Ryan Breslow says the move is selfish — citing improved productivity across the board.
He’s also quick to mention that not all companies are suited for the shift. Bolt makes a point to measure worker impact, which will help sniff out any decreases in productivity over time.
Iceland’s national government trialed a 4-day workweek between 2015-2019, and found worker productivity either remained the same or improved.
Even in Japan — where workaholism is so common there’s a word for overworking oneself to death, “kiroshi” — companies like Panasonic are letting employees opt in to the 4-day schedule.
Bolt went with Fridays, with most employees working Monday to Thursday to ensure no one feels like they’re missing anything on their day off.
The Wanderlust Group, a startup that builds software for outdoor activities like boating and camping, also follows a 4-day workweek, but decided to give employees Mondays off.
Sounds like a pretty effective cure for a case of the Mondays.
Read more: The Hustle’s Mark Dent went deep on “Time vs. Task,” and the most effective way to measure work.