SF Tech Unicorn ‘Bolt’ Introduces 4-Day Workweek To Increase Productivity
By Betty Yu
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SAN FRANCISCO, California (KPIX) — As more and more workers rethink their work-life balance, San Francisco-based e-commerce checkout company and unicorn Bolt is the first major tech company to permanently introduce the four-day workweek.
The new policy went into effect at the start of 2022, following a successful three-month experiment, where the company found the overwhelming majority of employees and managers were in favor of the change.
The four-day workweek is meant to increase productivity, keep employees happy and reduce burnout, according to Bolt.
It is also on a mission to transform corporate culture.
“It’s actually not about trying to cram 5 days into 4 days,” said Chief People Officer Jennifer Christie. “The way we think about it is actually changing the way we work, and being more effective and efficient during those four days. So we’re taking a look at, ‘are there meetings that we don’t need to have? Can we do work in a different way? Are we focused and prioritizing on the most impactful work?’”
Christie says it’s not about policing workers. Employee pay also stays the same.
“If you hire the right people who are focused on your mission and are here to do the great work that we want them to do, empower them to do it,” said Christie. “And let them achieve their goals, and we monitor things by goals not hours.”
Bolt says currently most of its 550 employees work remotely due to the pandemic.
“Fantastic, I would love it,” said Frankie Steiner of Oakland who currently works from home. “I think if you would have a six-day workweek, you would just work more, and I also think you can be quite productive with a four-day workweek and so I think work-life balance-wise it would also be much easier.”
We asked people in San Francisco what they would do with the extra time off.
“Learn something new that you can bring to your company, travel, get outdoors, take care of yourself,” said San Francisco resident Josh, who declined to give his last name.
“I would meditate, exercise more, cook more, meal prep, I have a long list of things,” said Katherine Cheng of San Francisco.
Bolt said since it made the news public, they’ve been flooded with interest from potential employees. They’re also hearing from other companies who want to learn more about adopting the four-day workweek.
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