OTHERS.

>> WHAT IF THE WEEKEND STARTED RIGHT NOW?

FOR MORE WORKERS, IT ACTUALLY DOES.

THE TALK OF A FOUR DAY WORK WEEK IS HEATING UP ONCE AGAIN, WITH ONE STATE EVEN PROPOSING CASH INCENTIVES TO SHRINK THE WORK WEEK BY A DAY.

SHOULD THE FIVE DAY WORK WEEK BE A THING OF THE PAST?

WE WILL ASK OUR GUESTS.

WE HAVE A FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY FIRM BASED IN CHICAGO, AND JESSICA SCHAFER, A STAFFING AND RECRUITING AND CULTURE FIRM ALSO BASED IN CHICAGO.

WELCOME TO CHICAGO TONIGHT.

YOUR COMPANY HAS GONE TO AN OPTIONAL FOUR DAY WORK WEEK.>> WE DID, IT FORCED US TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HOW WE WORK AND WE SURVEYED OUR EMPLOYEES TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO THEM AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE HAVING THAT ALL THE TIME, AND DISCONNECTING FROM WORK AND HOME .

IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL FOR US.

>> HOW ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY?

EVERYTHING GOOD?

>> EVERYTHING SKYROCKETED.

PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO HAVE THAT WORKLIFE BALANCE, SO THEY ARE MORE KEEN TO WORKING FOUR 10 HOUR DAYS AND HAVING THREE DAYS OFF IN A ROW.

I THINK HAVING THREE DAYS OFF IN A ROW IS KEY.>> SO, JESSICA SCHAFER, YOUR COMPANY TRIED THIS SEVERAL YEARS AGO, HOW DID IT GO?>> IT DIDN'T WORK FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT AND BUSINESS, AND IT'S NOT RIGHT FOR EVERY COMPANY AND I'M SO GLAD TO HEAR IT IS THRIVING FOR SOME EMPLOYEES BUT, IT'S REALLY HARD BEING IN A SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS WHERE WE HAVE TO BE ON CALL WHEN OUR CLIENTS NEED US.

WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE PEOPLE WORKING FOR THESE SERVICES.

>> WHAT ARE THE THINGS THE COMPANY SHOULD THINK ABOUT WHEN DECIDING WHETHER THIS IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEM OR NOT?

>> THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS THAT GO INTO PLAY.

AND I THINK THE BIGGEST THING IS, HOW IS YOUR BUSINESS DOING RIGHT NOW?

IS IT GROWING?

IS IT PROFITABLE?

HOW IS THE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY AND MORALE?

AND I WOULD SAY A LOT OF COMPANIES TEND TO MAKE CHANGES WHEN BUSINESS IS BAD AND THAT IS NOT THE BEST TIME TO MAKE CHANGES.

THE BEST TIME IS WHEN THINGS ARE GOING WELL AND THE COMPANY IS GROWING AND PROFITABLE AND INTRODUCING SOMETHING NEW AS A BENEFIT TO YOUR STAFF WILL REALLY SHOW WHETHER THAT WILL SUCCEED OR NOT.>> YOU STILL EXPECT 40 HOURS, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, I THINK THERE ARE SOME STATES LOOKING AT 32 HOURS IN FOUR DAYS.

>> THE NICE THING ABOUT THAT, WE ARE FLEXIBLE.

WE KNOW THAT EMPLOYEES ARE WORKING 10 HOURS STRAIGHT, A LOT OF EMPLOYEES OR TEAM MEMBERS HAVE THEIR WORK SPLIT UP AND WHAT WORKS FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILY LIFE.

>> WE MENTIONED THERE WAS A TRIAL IN THE UK, MARYLAND IS A STATE THAT IS THINKING ABOUT THIS, WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS COMING UP AGAIN?

>> I THINK THE BIGGEST THING IS, PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THIS NEW SCHEDULE, THEY ARE OPEN TO RECRUIT PEOPLE AND CALLING THEM UP AND TRYING TO GIVE THEM A BETTER OPPORTUNITY AND SOME COMPANIES ARE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO KEEP THEIR PEOPLE.>> YOUR COMPANY STILL HAS SOME EMPLOYEES THINKING, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT BE GREATER ELSEWHERE UNLESS WE GET SOME FLEXIBILITY.

>> THAT WAS DEFINITELY A MOTIVATOR FOR OUR DECISION, WE WANT TO RETAIN OUR TALENT, AND WE WANT TO ATTRACT THE BEST IN THE MARKET AND WE SURVEY OUR EMPLOYEES MONTHLY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THEM, WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THEIR FUTURE.

AND THE WORLD OF WORK HAS CHANGED, IN TERMS OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THEM.

THE OFFICE PARTIES AND THAT TYPE OF STUFF, NOW IT IS FLEXIBILITY, SPENDING TIME WITH FRIENDS AND TRAVEL.

>> AND JESSICA, IS THERE ANY DATA OUT THERE THAT TELLS YOU HOW A UNIVERSAL FOUR DAY WORK WEEK WOULD IMPACT THE OVERALL ECONOMY?

>> YOU KNOW WHAT, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY DATA LIKE THAT, BUT THAT WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING TO READ.

I THINK THE BIGGEST THING THAT WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD FROM OUR CLIENTS IS THAT OFTEN TIMES, A FOUR DAY WORK WEEK ISN'T A TRUE FOUR DAY WORK WEEK BECAUSE YOU HAVE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE TRYING TO SERVICE THEIR CUSTOMERS OR CLIENTS.

THEY END UP WORKING MORE THAN FOUR 10 HOUR WORKDAYS, OR WHATEVER THAT BREAKS DOWN TO.

AND PRODUCTIVITY STAYS AT THE SAME LEVEL, MAY BE OFF A LITTLE BIT, BUT THEY THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAUTIFUL FOUR DAY WORK WEEK, BUT THEY ARE ULTIMATELY WORKING MORE.>> IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE ALL ACROSS DIFFERENT SECTORS HOW IT WOULD AFFECT THE WORK WEEK.

>> AND EVEN THOSE THAT DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT, IF YOU ARE WORKING A TRADITIONAL FIVE DAY WORK WEEK AND YOU ARE WORKING YOUR PRODUCTIVITY ON FRIDAY, IT'S REALLY HOW YOU WANT TO SCHEDULE IT.

SO, HAVE NO MEETINGS, YOU ARE NOT REALLY INTERACTING WITH OTHER PEOPLE IF YOU DON'T NEED TO, BUT YOU CAN GET AS MUCH DONE AS YOU CAN ON FRIDAY.>> YOU MENTIONED THIS RELATES TO ALL THE TRENDS GOING ON IN THE WORKPLACE SINCE COVID, WHAT DO YOU SAY FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO WORK AT HOME VERSUS THE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GO BACK TO WORK?>> A LOT OF FOLKS ARE SAYING WE WILL HYBRID WORK, WE WANT THE BEST OF BOTH WORDS.

THEY REALLY MISS BEING AROUND PEOPLE AND COLLABORATING IN THE FULFILLMENT OF COMING INTO THE OFFICE AND WORKING AS A TEAM.

PEOPLE ARE SAYING I WOULD LIKE TO GO IN ONE, TWO, THREE DAYS PER WEEK.

I WANT TO CHOOSE THE DAYS I COME IN, I DON'T WANT YOU TO MANDATE THOSE FOR ME, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE OF A ROUTINE.

>> IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE ENTIRETY IS OCCUPIED, IT IS ALL OVER THE PLACE.

AND YOUR COMPANY, YOU WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE BEFORE COVID, AND NOW YOU ARE COMPLETELY REMOTE.

>> COMPLETELY REMOTE, 100%.

WE HAVE AN OFFICE IN CHICAGO THAT THE TEAM MEMBERS CAN COME INTO.

>> AND FROM WHAT YOU TOLD ME, THEY WANT TO STAY.>> YES, WE SURVEY ALL THE TIME, TO MAKE SURE WE ARE PROVIDING THE WORK ENVIRONMENT THAT OUR TEAM MEMBERS WANT.

WE DO SOME BIG ONES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND SOME SMALLER ONES, SO WE ARE STILL GETTING