The 4 Day Week audiobook cover - How the flexible work revolution can increase productivity, profitability, and wellbeing, and help create a sustainable future

The 4 Day Week

How the flexible work revolution can increase productivity, profitability, and wellbeing, and help create a sustainable future

Andrew Barnes with Stephanie Jones

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Categories:
ProductivitySociety & CultureCorporate Culture

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The 4 Day Week
The Crisis of Modern Work+
The 4-Day Week Solution+
Implementation Strategy+
Broader Societal Impacts+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9
What is identified as a major negative consequence of the modern gig economy for workers?
  • A. It strictly enforces a rigid nine-to-five schedule that stifles creativity.
  • B. It creates an 'always-on' mentality that eliminates the boundary between work and free time.
  • C. It forces workers to join powerful international labor unions to secure employment.
  • D. It requires workers to commute long distances to centralized corporate headquarters.
Question 2 of 9
According to the text, how does society's addiction to convenience (such as fast Amazon deliveries) impact the workforce?
  • A. It increases the leverage gig workers have over their large employers.
  • B. It forces companies to provide comprehensive healthcare and pension benefits to retain fast workers.
  • C. It results in job insecurity, poor pay, and terrible hours for the workers fulfilling these demands.
  • D. It encourages a shift from freelance contracts back to traditional full-time employment.
Question 3 of 9
Why does the modern gig economy pose a unique challenge for organized labor compared to the past?
  • A. Gig workers are typically too highly paid to see the financial value in joining a union.
  • B. Transnational digital corporations can easily slip in and out of national jurisdictions to avoid legislation.
  • C. Modern workers prefer the instability of gig work over the rigid contracts negotiated by unions.
  • D. Most gig economy jobs are heavily concentrated in traditional manufacturing sectors where unions are banned.
Question 4 of 9
What core realization led the author to develop the 100-80-100 ratio for the four-day week?
  • A. Office workers are generally only productive for about 1.5 to 2.5 hours of a typical eight-hour day.
  • B. Employees are willing to take a 20 percent pay cut in exchange for an extra day off.
  • C. A four-day week requires hiring 20 percent more staff to maintain previous output levels.
  • D. Most employees naturally work 20 percent faster when supervised closely by management.
Question 5 of 9
Which of the following is considered a major mistake when implementing a four-day week, according to the text?
  • A. Asking employees in an open forum for their input on how to improve productivity.
  • B. Utilizing top-down decision-making, such as mandating that everyone takes Friday off.
  • C. Accommodating individual employee needs, such as religious observances or supplementary studies.
  • D. Being completely transparent about the broader business objectives of the trial.
Question 6 of 9
How do Flexible Working Agreements (FWAs) complement the four-day week?
  • A. By allowing employees to work gig-economy side jobs on their designated days off.
  • B. By giving workers the choice of when and where they work, while maintaining full-time pay.
  • C. By replacing full-time salaries with hourly wages based on remote work check-ins.
  • D. By requiring employees to remain on-call during their designated days off.
Question 7 of 9
What is the 'carrot-and-stick' approach the author recommends if productivity drops during a four-day week arrangement?
  • A. The company should permanently fire the lowest-performing employees to set an example.
  • B. The company should temporarily revert to a five-day week until productivity targets are met again.
  • C. The company should reduce employees' compensation to 80 percent to match their working hours.
  • D. The company should hire temporary gig workers to make up for the lost productivity.
Question 8 of 9
How does the author view the four-day week in the context of global wealth inequality?
  • A. As a way to completely dismantle the capitalist system in favor of a socialist economy.
  • B. As a method for large corporations to exploit tax loopholes.
  • C. As a bridge to preserve healthy capitalism and prevent societal collapse by offering workers security.
  • D. As a temporary measure to appease workers until AI can fully automate their jobs.
Question 9 of 9
Besides reducing commuting emissions, how does the author's company, Perpetual Guardian, directly use the four-day week to benefit the community?
  • A. Employees are required to donate 20 percent of their salaries to environmental causes.
  • B. Employees must spend every Friday picking up litter in their local neighborhoods.
  • C. The company mandates that employees use public transportation on their four working days.
  • D. Employees are required to use one of their free days each quarter to volunteer for a charity.

The 4 Day Week — Full Chapter Overview

The 4 Day Week Summary & Overview

The 4 Day Week shows us a better way of working – one in which employees are able to maintain flexibility, preserve their well-being, and increase productivity. By avoiding all the pitfalls of the precarious gig economy and relieving the stresses that we’re inflicting on the planet, the four-day week is the future of work. 

Who Should Listen to The 4 Day Week?

  • Business owners who want to maximize productivity
  • Campaigners for workers’ rights
  • Anyone with an interest in well-being at work

About the Author: Andrew Barnes with Stephanie Jones

Andrew Barnes is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded New Zealand’s largest corporate trustee company, Perpetual Guardian. He pioneered the four-day week in his own company and brought the concept to the forefront of the conversation around work. He lives in New Zealand and enjoys restoring his classic yacht, Ariki, and cultivating his vineyards on Waiheke Island.

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