This post was written on March 23, 2022. We updated the research and post on January 19, 2023. Then, we updated the post again on May 3, 2023 and June 1, 2023. Sabbaticals (or extended breaks from work) lead to “a decline in stress and an increase in psychological resources and overall well-being,” according to one study, and the “positive changes often remained long after…
Are you looking to change or improve the employee benefits package you offer? We’ve built the ultimate library of inspiration for HR professionals. In this report, we researched and discovered 116 types of employee benefits that real companies offer. These range from the staples (like “health insurance”) to the wacky (like an “on-site car wash”) to the life-altering (like the “four-day work week”). The list…
If you’re in a hurry, here are the important takeaways from the 2023 work calendar in the United States: Working days in Q4: October 2023: 21 November 2023: 20 December 2023: 20 Working days in 2023: 249 Work hours in 2023: 1,992 Weekdays in 2023: 260 If you’d like to get more detail and access downloadable graphics, read on… Working Days By Month, Q4…
There are many compelling reasons for companies to donate to nonprofits and charities. Let’s start with the genuine benefits: Companies can turn excess profit into good by donating to charities Companies can support their employees’ volunteer work and charitable contributions through matching It gives employees a sense of purpose in addition to their work There are also positive albeit slightly more cynical, self-serving reasons, too:…
In this report, we cover flexible work schedules in depth for managers at companies who are considering a change from the traditional work week. Starting with Ford Motor Company in 1926, factory workers operated on one of three, eight-hour shifts per day. Assembly lines required synchronous work where all employees worked at the same time. Knowledge work (or, desk jobs) defaulted to the same schedule…
I’m joined today by Dr. Dale Whelehan who is the CEO at 4 Day Week Global. Dale is also a lecturer at the Graduate business school of University College Dublin and the founder of BehaviorDoc. Early in his career, Dale completed a PhD in behavior science focusing on the impact of sleep deprivation and fatigue on surgeons. 4 Day Week Global is a non-profit that…
This post was written in May of 2022. It was updated in February of 2023 to highlight this year’s companies with the best work-life balance. It was updated again in September of 2023 for formatting and information (the 2023 winners were not changed). A list of companies with the best work-life balance usually comes out biased. Best is subjective, after all. I didn’t want to…
What is a 30-hour work week? A 30-hour work week typically comes in one of two forms: 1) 6 hours of work per day for five days, or 2) 7.5 hours per day for four work days (also known as a four-day work week). Table of contents: How many hours do you work per day? What are the benefits of the 30-hour work week? Where…
Does Scotland have a 4-day work week? No. Scotland does not have a four-day work week. In September of 2023, the Scottish government committed to a trial of the four-day work week by the end of the calendar year. Why are people talking about a 4-day work week in Scotland? Scotland’s 2023 Trial Promise On September 5, 2023, Humza Yousaf, First Minister of Scotland, outlined…
The 40-hour work week is so ingrained in office culture that most business leaders don’t even think about it. But maybe you should. Henry Ford developed the 40-hour, five-day workweek nearly 100 years ago. And it would be an understatement to say that business — and the way we do business — has changed since then. The 40-hour week may still be right for your…