The Four-Day Work Week Will Change Your Life

In order to do their best work, people need time to live full lives.

The Four-Day Work Week Will Change Your Life

When we were planning how we wanted to go about piloting a four-day work week here at Kickstarter, some of the stories and statistics we saw rang hollow. It wasn't clear that data about productivity experiences at other companies would necessarily be applicable to our business.

That's because as a public benefit corporation, our bottom line is different than at most companies. We're focused on the public benefits that we put into the world, and because we measure our success by how well we achieve that mission, not by the size of our profits, we're able to care first and foremost about how our staff's work helps creators see their ideas realized.

As we wrap up our pilot and make plans to continue our four-day work week for the foreseeable future, we’ve taken some time to assess the pilot’s impact. Some of the most powerful data we've seen came from an unexpected source: comments posted by Kickstarter staff in our company's Slack channels.

The consensus is that the four-day work week has enabled us all to live brighter, fuller lives and has allowed us to return to work refreshed—every Monday brings great new stories about projects and experiences that our staff members have finally had the time to pursue. In addition to benefiting us each individually, the four-day work week has also paid off for the company as a whole, through productivity gains that have resulted from staff finding smarter ways to work.

Below, check out some examples of how we at Kickstarter have been using our Fridays off. These are just some of the ways we've spent our downtime to come back to work each week more prepared and inspired to help bring more creative projects to life.

"Coming back from maternity leave is a challenge for any mom. Knowing that I'd have an extra day every week for dedicated time with my daughter made that transition so much easier. My Fridays with her are priceless and so much fun" —Kait Rathmell, Senior Brand Manager
"I am not just someone who recovers from work on my time off - I’ve become part of my amazing local community." —Lawrence Gullo; Trust & Safety Analyst, Moderation
"The extra time I get with my children, who are growing up too fast, is beyond valuable." —Christina Medeiros, Trust and Safety Analyst
"Went to the rally @Washington Sq Park" —Alexander Mancevice, Senior Infrastructure Engineer