Faced with a crisis like COVID-19 — on top of the modern-day dangers of *gestures vague all around* — it’s absolutely no surprise that we’re asking ourselves questions like:
- Am I really doing what I want to do?
- Can I spend my time better?
- Is this really the job for me?
- What kind of job do I really want?
(BTW, if you’re still asking yourself those questions now, don’t worry: We have lots of resources to help you find a career you’ll love.)
Over the past few years, IWT has also seen it evolve and transform with new hires, a top-to-bottom rebrand, a new podcast, a book update, new courses, thousands of new students and Netflix TV show — just to mention a few things. It finally came to a point where we realized two things:
- We want to truly live our values. If we want to teach our students and readers to live their rich lives, then we should absolutely put our money where our mouth is and do the same for us.
- If not now, when? Like the rest of the world, we were finally ready to really work on our own terms – even if it meant radical change.
It’s not just us was. In fact, workweek experiments are probably more popular than you think.
The future of the work week
Recently June 2023 survey conducted by ResumeBuilder.com of approximately 600 US business leaders found that 20% of businesses did already using 4DWW.
Not only that, but 41% of companies stated that they plan to use the 4DWW model in the future — half of these respondents say it will happen by the end of 2023.
What does this mean? Companies are trying to find new ways to make employees happier and more productive. This is the future for much of the American workforce — and we say it’s GREAT.
If that means workers can get their companies and workplaces to use Rich Life practices, then we think it’s amazing that compressed workweeks are growing in popularity.
But we should also note that 4DWW also works particularly well for IWT because we’ve developed a culture that attracts top talent, supportive associates and well-rounded people.
It’s like what our reader Margaret said: The experience has made her better at what she does — so she can manage her business in a fraction of the time it used to take. Likewise, we were already adapted for something like 4DWW because this is the kind of culture we’ve been building for almost 15 years.
“There is no silver bullet,” says IWT President Gretchen Leslie. “It’s not an arcane skill. These are all things that make you great at work. 4DWW is just a pot for really honing those skills – because even if we cut the 4 day work week tomorrow, we’d all be better off for what we learned doing it because it makes us so careful and thoughtful about how we work.”
As more and more businesses begin to consider alternatives to the 40-hour, 5-day work week, you may soon find yourself in that position. When you do, you may be easily scared or nervous about it – which is fair. Change is almost always scary.
But keep in mind: What got you here won’t get you there. Sometimes you have to shake the snow globe just to see the pieces fall into place.