4-day workweek with Pernille Garde Abildgaard
Interview with Pernille Garde Abildgaard
At Together Architecture, we work on how companies can optimize their square footage to create the best framework for productivity, social relationships and mental well-being. But we are also interested in how working hours and structures affect companies. That's why we had the pleasure of talking to Pernille Garde Abildgaard, who is an author, speaker and advisor to companies and organizations in the implementation of a four-day workweek. We talked about her company, the positive effects of a shorter workweek, and how companies can best implement this.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am originally a journalist, but have been self-employed for the past 10 years. I have always been interested in job satisfaction, and in recent years have published three books on the subject. The older I have become, the more I have become interested in time. It is as if if we do not take control of our own time, it will fly out of our hands. This is also why I have chosen to call my company 'TAKE BACK TIME', as I believe that we should take time back. We should not allow it to be constantly stolen by large companies that make a lot of money from capturing our attention. Time is important, as it is our most limited resource. At least that is how I see it. We are only here for x number of days in life, and we should use those days wisely. We should use them on what makes the days exciting. Such as high professionalism, as well as strengthening and maintaining the relationships that make us happy. It is important that we are aware that we are using our time correctly.
Can you tell us a little about your company TAKE BACK TIME?
At TAKE BACK TIME, we help companies convert from a 5-day working week to a 4-day working week. But we also just help ordinary companies to work smarter, achieve higher focus and have greater job satisfaction. We have today helped more than 40 companies to convert to a 4-day working week.
How does a 4-day work week work?
A 4-day working week is a working week of reduced time but for the same pay and with higher or the same productivity. This means that some companies can go all the way down to 30 hours, cutting a whole day off. Other companies land in 32, 34, or 36 hours. But it depends somewhat on which sector we are dealing with.
Why does it work particularly well?
The reason a 4-day workweek works so well is because it brings a number of benefits that benefit both the employer and the employee. We have observed that increased job satisfaction goes hand in hand with increased productivity.
By implementing a shorter work week, job satisfaction increases and thus productivity. We see that employees achieve more in four days than they previously did in five days. The increased job satisfaction also makes it easier for the company to recruit, engage and retain their employees. In addition, we see that employees use the extra day off to improve their skills, thereby increasing their competence development. We also see an increase in volunteer work, which can be seen as a strengthening of civil society. Another argument for implementing a shorter work week is for environmental reasons, as you achieve energy savings. Both in the form of the company closing down for a whole day a week, but also because they provide fewer transportation costs for employees. In general, we see a better work-life balance and a better bottom line. I have not yet seen a company that has introduced a four-day work week that has lost money on it. After the pandemic, we have gained new insights into working fewer hours, working from home and the importance of job satisfaction. We have also become aware of disruptions and what tasks need to be solved on a collective level. We see that a shorter workweek embraces structural and collective solutions in terms of finding methods that make us all more efficient and happier at work.
In addition, we also see that the process towards a four-day working week will be the biggest and best team-building exercise for companies. This is, of course, because when we convert to a four-day working week, we force each other to decide what provides value, which tasks work particularly well and how we avoid wasting time. There are a whole lot of things that make the conversion to a four-day working week create a completely new culture, and a healthier culture in the workplaces that introduce it.
Can you explain how a 4-day work week can increase equality and solve climate problems?
Right now we see that there are several companies that are implementing a shorter working week for the sake of the climate and the green transition. These are often manufacturing companies. By only working from Monday to Thursday, the company can completely shut down production from Friday to Sunday, thereby saving both energy and transport costs. As for equality, we can see that a 4-day working week frees up time to deal with personal responsibilities such as childcare and household duties. A shorter working week therefore increases flexibility between the sexes, and can also help to create a more attractive workplace for women.
Can all businesses benefit from implementing a 4-day work week?
It depends a bit on the company's business model. But in general I would say that most companies will benefit from converting to a four-day workweek. The first thing I always ask when a company comes to me is why they want to implement a four-day workweek. If everything is working well, if they don't have problems with recruitment, if they don't have problems with mental burnout, if they don't have problems at all and are struggling, then it's a big thing to get started with, where there are no problems to solve. In one way or another, you have to articulate what kind of problem you want to solve. In 90% of the cases of the companies that approach me, it's about recruitment. Sometimes it's also about increasing well-being and job satisfaction. But recruitment is the big problem.
How to achieve 5 days work in just 4 days?
You can do that because you work smarter. You can't keep working the way you do now and then just drop to a four day work week. We'll have to look at what kind of time robbers are lurking. The three most common time wasters are: distractions, interruptions, and meetings. We simply spend too much time on our emails and meetings. What we help companies with is to create tools to combat these time wasters, and to become aware of what creates value. It's about making the hours we work as productive and value-creating as possible, and then going home and making sure to recover and reflect, because it strengthens our cognitive capacity. The higher our cognitive capacity, the more we will be able to achieve in a shorter time.
Do you think we will see more companies implementing shorter work weeks in the future?
Oh yes, that's for sure. I myself convert two to three companies a month, but this month I actually converted two companies a week. We are busy, and for good reason. More companies can see the potential in implementing a shorter work week because of the positive results. The 4-day week will not be the only model in the future, but it will be the basic model for most companies within the next 15-20 years.
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