Most of their employees only work four days a week.

他們的大多數員工每週只工作四天。

They're part of a growing number of businesses and governments

他們是越來越多的企業和政府中的一員

around the world embracing the four-day work week,

世界各地都在擁護四天工作制。

something that was considered radical just a few years ago.

這在幾年前還被認為是很激進的事情。

The Covid-19 pandemic appears to have sped up adoption of a shorter working week

Covid-19的大流行似乎加快了縮短工作周的採用。

with workers increasingly demanding a better work-life balance. 

隨著工人越來越多地要求更好地平衡工作和生活。

  It's been a game changer for the four-day workweek movement.

這對四天工作制運動來說是一個遊戲規則的改變。

A lot of managers, now since moving to remote working,

很多管理人員，現在自從轉為遠程工作後。

have got much more sophisticated ways of measuring productivity, performance, output.

在衡量生產力、業績和產出方面，已經有了更復雜的方法。

So, they're much more focused on quality of output, rather than quantity of hours.

是以，他們更注重產出的品質，而不是時間的數量。

The pandemic has brought on this “great resignation,”

這場大流行帶來了這種 "偉大的辭職"。

this incredibly competitive labor market.

這個競爭異常激烈的勞動力市場。

So, a lot of employers are turning to the four-day work week

是以，許多僱主正在轉向每週四天工作制。

as something that could potentially give them a competitive advantage

作為有可能使他們獲得競爭優勢的東西

when it comes to recruitment and retention.

當涉及到招聘和保留時。

So, what can we learn from the companies and workers that have taken the plunge?

那麼，我們能從那些已經採取了行動的公司和工人身上學到什麼？

My first stop is London-based independent board game creator, Big Potato Games.

我的第一站是位於倫敦的獨立棋盤遊戲創造者，大洋芋遊戲。

They first started trialing the four-day working week in 2019

他們在2019年首次開始試行四天工作制

and made it a permanent fixture the following year, writing it into employee contracts.

並在第二年將其作為永久的固定項目，寫進了員工合同。

Let's find out more.

讓我們來了解一下。

Tell me about what inspired you to trial a four-day working week?

請告訴我，是什麼啟發了你試行每週四天工作制？

It wasn't actually my idea, or my partner Ben's.

這其實不是我的主意，也不是我的搭檔本的主意。

It was our other partner, Tris. He'd read this article about

是我們的另一個夥伴，特里斯。他讀了這篇關於

a company in New Zealand, who'd done it, and it'd been wildly successful.

在紐西蘭的一家公司，他們已經做了，而且取得了巨大的成功。

And he first proposed it to us.

而他首先向我們提出了這個建議。

And we're like “Nah that's crazy. Like, how would that ever work?”

而我們就像 "不，這太瘋狂了。就像，這怎麼會有效果呢？"

And he said, “No, read the article.”

他說："不，讀讀這篇文章。"

And we read it, and by the time we got to the end,

我們讀了這本書，當我們讀到最後的時候。

it seemed like a no brainer.

這似乎是一個不需要考慮的問題。

Big Potato, which was founded less than a decade ago,

大洋芋公司，成立不到十年了。

says revenue rose 350% since the shorter working week was introduced.

他說，自縮短工作周以來，收入增長了350%。

In 2021, Big Potato generated a group revenue of £12 million,

2021年，大洋芋的集團收入為1200萬英鎊。

having sold more than 10 million games across 32 markets around the world.

在全世界32個市場上銷售了超過1000萬個遊戲。

But with a relatively small team of just 40 employees,

但是在一個只有40名員工的相對較小的團隊中。

operating on a four-day week can become challenging during busy periods.

在繁忙時期，每週四天的運作可能會成為挑戰。

For Big Potato, that's the run-up to Christmas.

對大洋芋來說，這就是聖誕節前的準備工作。

You've got to have a degree of flexibility in certain like, roles within the company.

你必須在某些像，公司內的角色有一定程度的靈活性。

Our customer service team are like phenomenal.

我們的客戶服務團隊就像是驚人的。

But they work on a different pattern and they work on contract hours,

但他們的工作模式不同，他們的工作時間也是按合同規定。

so they have a slightly different setup to some of the full-time employees.

所以他們的設置與一些全職僱員略有不同。

So, we need to make sure that our customers have always got customer service representation,

是以，我們需要確保我們的客戶一直有客戶服務代表。

so that's just never going to work with a four-day week.

所以這在每週四天的情況下是絕對行不通的。

I think also there's like an unwritten understanding amongst everyone who works here is like,

我認為在這裡工作的每個人之間都有一種不成文的理解，那就是。

if I'm a designer, and I have a deadline, I'll do it on a Friday, if I have to.

如果我是一個設計師，我有一個最後期限，如果我不得不這樣做，我會在星期五做。

Marketing will do a photo shoot on a Friday.

市場部將在週五進行拍照。

So, there's like a good mutual respect amongst all the

是以，在所有的人中有一種良好的相互尊重。

different teams that every now and again, you're just gonna have to chip in, and it might be on a Friday

不同的團隊，時不時地，你只是要去籌款，它可能是在一個星期五

And that's alright, because it sort of levels itself out across the company over a year.

這沒什麼，因為它在整個公司一年內會逐漸趨於平穩。

And Big Potato is keen to keep a shorter week in place.

而大洋芋則熱衷於保持較短的一週。

It's that little thing that I love, you know, you can say to people

這是我喜歡的那件小事，你知道，你可以對人們說

"Yeah, we've pulled off a four-day week," because it's something

"是的，我們已經拉開了一週四天的序幕。"因為這是有的。

lots of people would love to have, and I hope more people will do eventually.  

很多人都想擁有，我希望更多的人最終會這樣做。

I think it's made a massive difference. I mean, everyone is so busy all the time.

我認為這帶來了巨大的變化。我的意思是，每個人一直都很忙。

Everyone's got loads of things going on. So, it's just that extra day that you can

每個人都有大量的事情要做。是以，這只是額外的一天，你可以

get things like life admin done, then just enjoy your weekend.

做好生活管理等事情，然後享受你的週末。

My next stop is Edinburgh-based food and drink marketing agency LUX.  

我的下一站是位於愛丁堡的食品和飲料營銷機構LUX。

Here, some of the employees work Monday to Thursday,

在這裡，一些員工週一至週四工作。

while others work Tuesday to Friday, ensuring every client

而其他人則在週二至週五工作，確保每個客戶

is covered by a counterpart on that fifth day of the week.

是由一週中的第五天的對應物所覆蓋。

LUX launched its four-day week pilot in January 2020, just before the onset of the pandemic.

LUX在2020年1月啟動了其四天周的試點，就在大流行病開始之前。

Initially, the agency decided not to tell their clients about the trial.

最初，該機構決定不告訴他們的客戶關於審判的情況。

It was imperative for us to be able to measure if it was working or not.

對我們來說，必須能夠衡量它是否有效。

So, we set ourselves some kind of KPIs, in terms of how are we going to measure success or not.

是以，我們為自己設定了一些關鍵績效指標，即我們將如何衡量成功與否。

And one of them was, if our clients don't notice,

而其中一個是，如果我們的客戶沒有注意到。

then that's a huge measure of whether it's working.

那麼這就是衡量它是否有效的一個巨大標準。

So yeah, none of our clients did, which was great. 

所以，是的，我們的客戶都沒有這樣做，這很好。

  In fact, Will says that LUX's profits have risen 30%

事實上，威爾說，LUX的利潤已經上升了30%。

since they started their pilot, while productivity is up 24%.

自他們開始試點以來，生產力提高了24%。

We have for several years been using a time-tracking software called Toggle.

幾年來，我們一直在使用一個名為Toggle的時間追蹤軟件。

So, we were able to kind of look at over a year-on-year, comparing it to kind of pre-pilot,

是以，我們能夠看一下同比的情況，與試點前的情況進行比較。

how was it impacting and how productive were we being.

它是如何影響的，我們的生產力如何。

And we could see that, in short, people were working less, but we were making more profit.

我們可以看到，簡而言之，人們的工作減少了，但我們的利潤卻增加了。

So, it was another indicator that people were being more efficient with their time.

是以，這是另一個指標，表明人們正在更有效地利用他們的時間。

It's not about how many hours you put into it,

這不是關於你投入多少時間的問題。

it's about focusing on outputs.

這是關於專注於產出。

So yeah, we were thrilled to see that an increase in productivity leads to more profitable business.

是以，是的，我們很興奮地看到，生產力的提高會帶來更多的盈利業務。

Neither LUX, nor Big Potato Games cut employees' pay with the switch to a shorter working week.

無論是LUX，還是大洋芋遊戲，都沒有因為改成較短的工作周而削減員工的工資。

Advocates for a four-day working week say it's more environmentally friendly,

倡導四天工作制的人說，這對環境更加友好。

because it reduces the number of days people commute to work.

因為它減少了人們上下班的天數。

So, it seems like a fitting model for sustainable events business Legacy Events.

是以，這似乎是可持續活動企業Legacy Events的一個合適模式。

The Oxford-based company has operated on four-day week since 2018,

這家位於牛津的公司自2018年以來一直按四天工作制運作。

in conjunction with a company rebrand.

結合公司的品牌重塑。

Legacy Events is also paying employees the equivalent

Legacy Events還向員工支付相當於

of what they would earn in the sector if they were working a five-day week.

如果他們每週工作五天，他們在該部門的收入是多少。

Sustainability was always meant to be at the core of Legacy Events.

可持續性始終是遺產活動的核心。

I've worked in sustainability for 15 years, and I've talked a lot about employee burnout,

我在可持續發展領域工作了15年，我已經談了很多關於員工倦怠的問題。

about wellbeing, about having a proper work-life balance.

關於健康，關於有一個適當的工作和生活平衡。

And so, it seemed to me if I was starting a company,

是以，在我看來，如果我創辦一家公司。

I should practice what I've preached, and really embed that in there in the company.

我應該實踐我所宣揚的東西，並在公司中真正嵌入這一點。

And so to me, it seems obvious if you're going to have a work-life balance, you need to give

是以，對我來說，如果你要在工作和生活之間取得平衡，顯然你需要給予

people almost as much leisure time as they have at work.

人們的休閒時間幾乎與他們的工作時間一樣多。

So, a four-day week just seemed natural.  

是以，每週四天似乎很自然。

We're a remote company as well as a four-day week company,

我們是一家遠程公司，也是一家每週四天的公司。

which means that our staff don't travel into the office

這意味著我們的員工不需要到辦公室去。

as much as perhaps other companies do.

也許其他公司所做的一樣多。

So that means that they have a lower carbon footprint, which benefits us all.

是以，這意味著他們有較低的碳足跡，這對我們所有人都有利。

But Fairweather has struggled with getting her team to take vacation.

但是費爾韋瑟在讓她的團隊休假方面一直很努力。

They are not feeling burnt out. They don't feel they need to take two

他們沒有感到疲憊不堪。他們不覺得他們需要採取兩個

or three weeks away from work to go and recharge.

或三個星期不工作，去充電。

But we all need longer times away from work.

但我們都需要更長的時間離開工作。

So, it's clear that there's still a mindset shift needed in the workplace,

是以，很明顯，在工作場所仍然需要轉變思維方式。

even among those employees who are able to enjoy this increased flexibility.

甚至在那些能夠享受這種增加的靈活性的僱員中也是如此。

But it seems like, for the most part, the benefits have outweighed the costs for these companies.

但看起來，在大多數情況下，這些公司的收益已經超過了成本。

It's enabled me to focus on other things on a Monday.

它使我能夠在星期一專注於其他事情。

I work for charities. I do some voluntary work for a dog charity.

我為慈善機構工作。我為一個狗狗慈善機構做一些志願工作。

It's lovely to have that extra day to just go and

能有多一天的時間去做這些事情是很好的。

visit my friends and family, but also wind down mentally,

訪問我的朋友和家人，但也在精神上放鬆。

and I feel really refreshed by the Tuesday and ready to go.

週二，我感覺真的是神清氣爽，準備出發。

And it's not just smaller businesses that are embracing a shorter working week.

而且，不僅僅是小型企業正在接受更短的工作周。

Consumer goods giant Unilever has trialed a four-day working week in New Zealand,

消費品巨頭聯合利華在紐西蘭試行每週四天工作制。

while Microsoft tested it out in Japan for a month.

而微軟在日本進行了一個月的測試。

Iceland's long-running trial of shorter working hours

冰島長期進行的縮短工作時間的試驗

between 2015 and 2019 was hailed as an “overwhelming success”

2015年至2019年期間，被譽為 "壓倒性的成功"

and one report in the same year found 86% of Iceland's working population

而同年的一份報告發現冰島86%的工作人口

either work shorter weeks or now have the right to.

要麼工作時間更短，要麼現在就有權利。

An even bigger trial kicked off in the U.K. in June,

一個更大的試驗於6月在英國拉開帷幕。

with 71 companies and more than 3,300 employees, signed up to test a four-day week over six months.

擁有71家公司和超過3300名員工的美國聯邦調查局(FBI)簽署了一項為期六個月的每週四天的測試。

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, who wrote a book on productivity and shorter working hours

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang，他寫了一本關於生產力和縮短工作時間的書

pointed out in a recent report that there's historical precedent.

在最近的一份報告中指出，這是有歷史先例的。

In as early as 1922, the Ford Motor Company experimented

早在1922年，福特汽車公司就試驗了

with reducing the work week from six to five days,

將每週工作時間從六天減少到五天。

and it became permanent policy four years later in 1926.

並在四年後的1926年成為永久性政策。

  So, could we see the four-day working week

那麼，我們是否可以看到四天工作制？

become the norm in the next five years?

在未來五年內成為常態？

What we're seeing is, certainly in certain sectors of the economy,

我們看到的是，當然在經濟的某些部門。

particularly those sectors that maybe traditionally would have been primarily office-based.

特別是那些傳統上可能主要以辦公室為基礎的部門。

Maybe now they're either remote first, or they're hybrid.

也許現在他們要麼是遠程第一，要麼是混合。

So you could definitely see the four-day workweek going from being an ambition to being the norm,

是以，你絕對可以看到每週四天工作制從一個雄心壯志變成了一種規範。

really, really quickly, even in the space

真的，真的很快，甚至在空間

of two to three years. 

兩到三年的時間。

Competition can really drive some incredible changes.

競爭真的可以推動一些令人難以置信的變化。

We're not just seeing this at a corporate level, but at a national level.

我們不僅在公司層面看到了這一點，而且在國家層面也看到了。

Attracting the best talent, attracting investment. We could definitely see the four-day workweek

吸引最優秀的人才，吸引投資。我們肯定能看到每週四天的工作時間

becoming something that even countries turn to,

成為連國家都轉向的東西。

and we're seeing governments and policymakers seriously looking at reduced work time as

我們看到政府和政策制定者正在認真研究減少工作時間，作為

a policy area that they're considering. 

他們正在考慮的一個政策領域。