Program Provides Resources and Direction to Test Sustained Flexibility in Work

In just over a month the number of organizations in the United States and Canada prepared to trial a four-day week has more than doubled, with a total of 35 companies and not-for-profits now signed up to the six-month trial kicking off in April. In total nearly 2,000 employees will be getting a paid day off weekly through the course of the trial.

With head counts ranging from small companies to large global corporates with more than 400 employees, companies in diverse sectors – from cultural analysis to health information, manufacturing, telco, tech and web design, building and construction management, hospitality, energy, PR, marketing and branding, and investment services – have boldly embraced the productivity-focused, reduced-hour model of work with the support of 4 Day Week Global, as the six-month pilot program rolls out in the UK, North America, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in 2022.

Many of the latest entrants in the pilot sprang from a series of well-subscribed information sessions in late 2021, which were led by the not-for-profit 4 Day Week Global and attended by leaders of more than one hundred organizations. The leaders of one pilot participant, global SaaS business simPRO, are so enthusiastic about the four-day week and its place in the future of work that they are donating $50,000 to ensure widespread access to the Foundation’s resources.

The for-profit companies set to undertake the pilot in the United States and Canada include:

• simPRO – simPRO is a global SaaS business providing comprehensive field service management solutions to trade and specialty and contracting industries

• M’tucci’s Restaurants – has several locations and a catering arm in New Mexico

• CULTIQUE – cultural insights and strategy venture: Analyzing and translating culture in a world of constant change founded by CEO Linda Ong and Partner Sarah Unger

• Advanced RV – creating custom, high-end Mercedes Benz motorhomes

• Floodlight Invest – delivers alternative ESG data to asset managers who are inhibited by incomplete, obscure, and biased ESG data

• Seed&Spark – film-centric crowdfunding and SVOD platform

• GillespieHall Strategic Communications and PR - strategic public relations, branding, social media and marketing firm

• Kickstarter – platform for funding creative projects

• Mental Health Advocacy Services – a private, non-profit organization established to provide free legal services to people with mental health disabilities

• WYNDR – provides future of work experts to help organizations reach their full potential by optimizing their people, processes, and technology across the entire employee journey.

• Fresh Squeezed Ideas – a human science-based business solutions and innovation firm

• GLIDE Design – a values-driven web design, development and marketing agency in Austin, Texas. We pair beauty with results to help people who help others.

• OwnTrail – the platform where women visualize and navigate their paths through life. 

• Integrity Pro Roofing Denver – roofing projects done quickly. We believe every person in Denver deserves to have amazing communication and a hassle-free roofing experience

Other pilot participants in the United and Canada are in the not-for-profit sector, and these include:

• Montana Nonprofit Association – provides leadership for Montana's non-profit sector and partner with non-profits to promote a sustainable, networked, and influential sector

• Public Policy Lab –non-profit that works at the intersection of human-centered design and public policy

• USENIX Association – not-for-profit USENIX membership organization based in San Francisco, California that supports advanced computing systems and operating system research

• Healthwise – not-for-profit leader in providing evidence-based health education

• Blue Sky Philanthropies – helping you fundraise more 5- and 6-figure donations for your mission

• Run for Something – recruits and supports talented, passionate youngsters who will advocate for progressive values now and for the next 30 years, with the ultimate goal of building a progressive bench

Irish companies in the pilot program include:

• Typetec – provides a complete range of professional IT services and cloud solutions for enterprise and SMB from a variety of sectors

• Yala – recruitment and employer branding specialists

• Codema - energy agency committed to leading Dublin's low-carbon transition towards 2030 and 2050

• Inviz Box – privacy made easy with Invizbox, you can secure yourself online, all the time, at home, or anywhere else

• Frankli – performance management system and engagement platform

• Stillwater – public relations and communications

• Optimum Ltd – provides training and business services support to companies and individuals aiming to achieve their ultimate success in business

simPRO is a global SaaS business providing comprehensive field service management solutions to trade and specialty contracting industries, serving over 200,000 users in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom.

simPRO CEO, Sean Diljore says, “Companies cannot grow and reach amazing valuations and new heights without their staff, and it's time we as leaders find ways to return some of this investment to our staff, not just in wages, bonuses and equity, but with time, so they can use the rest of those things to build a life they love.  We have put our weight behind the 4 Day Week Global Foundation because we believe this is the future of work, and our investment in their work will help other organizations globally access the resources and research we will be using in our own trial with our 400-plus employees.”

“simPRO has been a traditional office-based company and with what we have learned in the past two years we are in a position to implement changes, trust employees to maintain productivity, and make sure work-life balance is supported with a 4-day work week model that we are calling Flex4. Most of all, we are responding to the shift we are seeing, with employees having more of a voice about what they want work to look like in the future. The idea of true partnership between the executive and employees resonates with people.”

M'tucci’s Restaurants has several locations and a catering arm in New Mexico, and company president, John Haas says, the team is intrigued about the four-day week and excited to test how flexibility can be optimized in the fast-paced hospitality business. “We have been impressed by how 4 Day Week Global has presented and explained the concept in the information phase and by the extensive resources and support, and we are eager to be an early hospitality adopter in the future of work. People in our industry are naturally adaptable and open to new ideas, and we are looking forward to seeing what we and the other organizations learn from this pilot.”

Charlotte Lockhart, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, says of the US and Canada pilot, “With a target of onboarding 20 North American companies into this pilot, we’ve exceeded expectations – which shows that organizations across a variety of industries are ready to adapt to the future of work.

“This first-phase trial will connect businesses with training and mentoring support from international experts who have previously implemented similar programs. We already have the advantage of a significant amount of data amassed in multiple jurisdictions since the first 4 Day Week trial of its type at Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand in early 2018.”

4 Day Week Global founder and architect Andrew Barnes says, “Following the advances made by Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand and various political and business leaders in Spain, Japan, Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and elsewhere, this next cohort of businesses trialing the model in North America and Ireland in the first half of 2022 is laying the foundation for the future of work.

“Alongside 4 Day Week Global they are gathering and sharing expanded data and helping build a template that will make it possible for many more businesses to trial, adapt and reap the benefits of emphasizing productivity over time – and in doing so, comprehensively change how people engage in the world of work.”

4 Day Week Global is a multinational coalition of businesspeople, academics, researchers and authors collaborating to make the productivity-focused flexible work model a reality. The coalition is driving the biggest change in work since the shift to a five-day week a century ago.

Founders, employers and employees can find out more about the 4 Day Week and the pilot program at www.4dayweek.com/pilot-program