The typical five-day workweek is a thing of the past for Buffer, at least for now. The company has decided to implement a four-day workweek for the “foreseeable future.”
Last year, the company surveyed its employees to see how they are dealing with the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic and the anxiety and stress that came along with it. They soon learned employees didn’t always feel comfortable or like they could take time off.
Employees felt guilty for taking PTO while trying to meet deadlines. Juggling work and suddenly becoming a daycare worker and teacher for their children at the same time was stressful. So, Buffer looked for a solution to help give employees more time and flexibility to get adjusted to their new routines.
Four-Day Workweek Trials
In May, Buffer started the four-day workweek one-month trial to focus on teammates’ well-being. “This four-day workweek period is about well-being, mental health, and placing us as humans and our families first,” said Buffer CEO and co-founder Joel Gascoigne in a company blog post.
“It’s about being able to pick a good time to go and do the groceries, now that it’s a significantly larger task. It’s about parents having more time with kids now that they’re having to take on their education. This isn’t about us trying to get the same productivity in fewer days,” Gascoigne said.
Buffer’s one-month trial proved to be successful. Survey data from before and after the trial showed higher autonomy and lower stress levels. In addition, employee anecdotal stories showed an increase in worker happiness.
With positive results, Buffer turned the trial into a long-term pilot through the end of 2020. This time, the trial would focus on Buffer’s long-term success.
“In order to truly evaluate whether a four-day workweek can be a success long-term, we need to measure productivity as well as individual well-being,” wrote Director of People Courtney Seiter. “Teammate well-being was our end goal for May. Whether that continues, and equally importantly, whether it translates into customer and company results, will be an exciting hypothesis to test.”
Trial Results
Company Productivity
Buffer’s shorter workweek trials showed employees felt they had a better work-life balance without compromising work productivity. According to the company’s survey data, almost 34% of employees felt more productive, about 60% felt equally as productive, and only less than 7% of employees felt less productive.
However, just saying productivity is higher isn’t proof. To make sure the numbers added up, managers were asked about their team’s productivity. Engineering managers reported that a decrease in total coding days didn’t show a decrease in output. Instead, there was a significant output increase for product teams, and Infrastructure and Mobile saw their output double.
The Customer Advocacy team, however, did see a decline in output. Customer service is dependent on customer unpredictability so this makes sense. Still, the survey showed about 85% to 90% of employees felt as productive as they would have been in a five-day workweek. Customers just had to wait slightly longer to receive replies to their inquiries.
Employee Well-Being
With more time and control of their schedules, Buffer’s survey shows an increase in individual autonomy and decreased stress levels reported by employees. And, the general work happiness for the entire company has been consistent throughout 2020.
What’s in store for 2021?
Based on positive employee feedback and promising company results, Buffer decided it will continue the company-wide four-day workweek this year.
“The four-day work week resulted in sustained productivity levels and a better sense of work-life balance. These were the exact results we’d hoped to see, and they helped us challenge the notion that we need to work the typical ‘nine-to-five,’ five days a week,” wrote Team Engagement Manager Nicole Miller.
The four-day workweek will continue in 2021, but the company will also be implementing adjustments based on the pilot results.
For most teams, Fridays will be the default day off. For teams that aren’t project-based, their workweek will look slightly different. As an example, the Customer Advocacy team will follow a different schedule to avoid customer reply delays and ticket overflow. Each team member will still have a four-day workweek and need to meet their specific targets. They will just have a more flexible schedule.
Companies who follow this format understand that output expectations will be further defined by area and department level. Employees who aren’t meeting their performance objectives will have the option to choose a five-day workweek or might be asked to do so.
If needed, Fridays will also serve as an overflow workday to finish up a project. Of course, schedules will be evaluated quarterly to make sure productivity is continuing to thrive and employees are still satisfied.
But, Miller says Buffer is “establishing ambitious goals” that might “push the limits” of a four-day work week in 2021. With the world slowly starting to normalize, who knows when a four-day workweek might reach its conclusion.
“We aren’t sure that we’ll continue with the four-day workweeks forever, but for now, we’re going to stick with it as long as we are still able to hit our ambitious goals,” wrote Miller.
Eric Stegemann
June 19, 2009 at 3:03 am
I can tell you from my own experience this works so very well. You get the best insight from people. Hints: Do NOT go at 8am or at 5pm. NO ONE will answer you, they just want to get in and out. The best time to go is during the day say around 10am and on Saturday afternoons! It offers a wide age range of people to choose from and the insights you will get will be worth 100s of times more than the $5-10 you’ll spend on their coffee…. Get in there, ask them really open ended questions How would you make this better? What works? What doesn’t? etc….
As Matt Dollinger said it’s better than any analytics you could possible have running on your site.
Matt Stigliano
June 19, 2009 at 10:56 am
Kim – Thanks for sharing Eric’s idea with us. It’s so simple, but it’s one of those ideas that smacks you around the ears and makes you think “why didn’t I think of that?” I may have to set up one of these days and try it out. Of course, I have to figure out how to curb my love for coffee as by the time someone finally approaches I’ll be 10 cups in and shaking like some crazy nutjob asking people “I just need a minute of your time….pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaasssssse!”
Eric – Thanks for letting Kim share. I like the follow up hint as well. I’ve been in there in the early hours and know how people are. They need coffee, not chatter. During the day, everyone and their mother wants to talk to you in a coffee shop.
Ken Brand
June 19, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Smart. I might add that wrapping your notebook in a custom made and clever marketing skin would help attract interest and curiosity.
Here’s an example what I’m talking about – https://www.schtickers.com
Disclaimer: I don’t own one and I’m not a rep or anything, just sharing the info.
Cool idea.
Joe Loomer
June 19, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I like Matt’s comment – sometimes we get knee-deep in the next great idea and forget that at our core, we’re a social bunch who like to interact. Simple acts generate the most results in real estate sales – it all starts actually meeting people.
Navy Chief, Navy Pride
Kim Wood
June 19, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Eric – Thank you so much for allowing me to share. I love what Matt Dollinger referenced comparing it to analytics 🙂
Matt – Maybe on those days you should stick with water … or decaf ….. geesh… picturing you and I together – we’d be bouncing !
Ken – Great idea! Especially when used creatively with a “call to action” vs. a “sales pitch” or “ID card” !
Joe – Yes! And we can use it to our advantage as well 🙂