Kiwi firm 4 Day Week Global named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential companies. Video / Supplied
The Kiwi firm pioneering and championing the four-day work week has been named one of Time magazine’s top 100 most influential companies.
4 Day Week Global has been named alongside the likes of Apple, Space X, Disney and TikTok in what Kiwi co-founder Andrew Barnes describes as a proud day for New Zealand.
He said what started as a small experiment at a single company in 2018 “has swiftly become an unstoppable movement”.
Barnes added: “At the rate it’s growing, I believe the reduced-hour approach to work will become mainstream policy within the next five years.”
In its citation, alongside the release today of the magazine with Kim Kardashian on its cover, Time magazine said: “The Monday-to-Friday grind is outdated, argues the nonprofit behind a raft of studies of what happens when workers drop a day without losing pay. Productivity doesn’t fall, says CEO Dale Whelehan, because rested people perform better.
“During a six-month pilot last year, attrition went down and revenues held; 92 per cent of participating businesses said they’d stick with the schedule. The group’s studies also inspired legislation: an Australian Senate committee called for its government to back a trial, and in March US Congressman Mark Takano reintroduced a 32-hour-work week bill. Future research will focus on implications for sustainability, equity, and civic participation, says Whelehan: “We’ve only scratched the surface.”
4 Day Week co-founder Andrew Barnes. Photo / supplied
Barnes said businesses “don’t get many chances to change the world”.
“You know, we’re a small country at the bottom end of the world, yet we have been leaders. We were the first up Everest. We were the first to give women the vote. We were the first to split the atom. This is about thinking smarter. And at its heart, that’s what the 4-Day Week is about. It’s about finding a better way, and that’s a very Kiwi way of working.
“All too often we talk about more money, more consumables, bigger houses. This is not about more, it’s about better.”
4 Day Week runs pilot programmes around the world to help companies decide whether they want to trial a 4 Day Week.
“This has gone from a small experiment in New Zealand through to the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa. We’ve got big programmes coming in Europe and South America, and now we’re seeing legislators across the world saying, this is something we need to look at. So, it’s become a global movement in less than five years,” said Barnes.
Whelehan said: “This is an immensely proud day for us. We are a team of just 10 people across five continents, so to be listed alongside such illustrious names is a huge honour. Today is not only a testament to the benefits of the 4-day week, but a celebration of the difference a small group of passionate, talented individuals can make through hard work and dedication.”
The covers for Time's top 100 most influential companies. Photo / Time
Time magazine said Kardashian’s company Skims had impressed investors.
“In its latest round of funding in January 2022, the brand, which is privately held, was valued at $3.2b, double what it had been valued just nine months prior.”
And it said Kardashian’s company had spawned a surge of copycats and was testing new brand extensions, such as a foray into bridal wear.
