Music Health has successfully transitioned into a 4-day work week. Why did we do it?
Music Health is just over a year old and like many startups, our core team is small and we are all wearing many hats. The team works long hours to get things done, often putting the company’s deadline’s ahead of their personal time and their families.
So why the hell would we take away a perfectly good day of productivity?
The reason is quite simple. Music Health is a technology company creating digital experiences that improve mental wellbeing. We believe in a world where everyone can better manage their own mental health. Not only do we want our customers to follow that path, but our team as well. It is a core value of our company, and so we should always walk the walk and lead by example.
My co-founder and I are serial entrepreneurs and this mindset has already been a constant in our personal lives. I work weird hours. Often early mornings are best for getting s**t done while evenings bring moments of creativity. The hours in between are dedicated to the product, team and our customers.
I make a conscious effort to find time for creative thinking (what others might call critical or deep thinking). This mental space gives me the ability to really problem solve and figure things out.
In our first 12 months of operation, we started noticing “calendar creep” where our daily schedules were filled with meetings, giving us little time to do actual work. Continuous meetings can be a serious impediment to productivity in any company, but it can quite literally mean the death of a startup. As we were (and still are) a small team there was simply a lot to do so we went hard!
We achieved a lot, but in our year-end review we acknowledged the negative impacts of our approach and decided now was the time to implement the 4-day work week. We wanted to give our team enough time to recover and to enjoy the important things in their lives like their family, hobbies and importantly rest!
Shifting to a 4-day week forced us to reevaluate how we operate. Aside from less meetings, we have more focused time to get s**t done. We work in 2-weekly sprints across all teams. There is transparency across the board, so all team members can easily communicate with each other if they need help, but it is also quickly evident if anyone isn’t pulling their weight. This positive friction is, in my eyes, what sparks collaboration and innovation. We’ve also discovered quite quickly that productivity doesn’t actually reduce since the scarcity of time forces us to work smarter to achieve our lofty goals. Early indications are that we are actually achieving much more as a team than we did when we were dancing on the edge of burn out.
There are several ways to implement the 4 day week. We landed on a fixed day off for each team member. Depending on their role within the company they take a Monday or a Friday off ensuring 5 days of coverage for our customers.
Another clear benefit to the 4-day work week is that it’s an incredible perk for new hires. We are a fast-growing startup that can’t compete with a Fortune 500 tech company when it comes to salaries. Where we can compete is attracting purpose-driven talent to our company mission, highlighting our incredible team culture and offering perks like the 4-day work week that lead to a healthy work life balance.
We asked potential candidates if this would be an important contributing factor when applying for our roles and it turns out it is. If you combine that with a clear purpose and vision - you have the ability to attract world class talent.
We will monitor our progress this year and provide an end of year review on the impact the 4-day work week has had on Music Health.
Nicc
Co-founder & CEO
