Ah, Labor Day. It’s always a great day for the beach, grilling on the barbecue and simply not working on what could otherwise be another manic Monday. But for Gen Z research and strategy firm Dcdx, today is just another regular Monday out of the office.
Since the July Fourth weekend, the remote workforce has been piloting “Summer Mondays,” enjoying intentionally reflective and restorative Mondays off through Labor Day without increasing the hours to other days.
Andrew Roth, 25, the firm’s Cleveland founder and CEO, said conversations about a four-day workweek started last fall at a companywide off-site meeting. The team decision culminated after the company’s “Cultural Renaissance Day” in April, when its six employees took half a Monday to separately visit a museum and reflect, take pictures and share thoughts on Slack. Both touch points created a-ha moments, resulting in Summer Mondays.
According to 2019 data from Gartner, a research and consulting firm, 55% of North American organizations offered Summer Fridays to their employees.
However, Roth saw something better about the start of the week. “It felt different,” he said. “Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday felt more like a reflective reset where it was more of a space for creative reset and reflection that wasn’t felt on a Friday off. That’s when we said, ‘Let’s do this on a Monday instead of a Friday.’ ”
Looking at the big picture, 2022 data from a Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report revealed that two of the Top 3 most positively rated initiatives on well-being were employers offering a four-day work week (77%) and limiting the amount of work employees are expected to perform outside of work hours (73%). Overall, these endeavors point to potentially reducing stress and burnout, improving your quality of life and essentially driving a cultural shift.
Erin Wade, entrepreneur, chef and author of “The Mac & Cheese Millionaire: Building a Better Business by Thinking Outside the Box” (Wiley), agreed.
“We should be focusing on quality of work over quantity of work, and for most of us, longer hours hurt productivity and creativity and our ability to do our best work,” she said. “Anyone who is playing with a nontraditional schedule and working with their team to see what feels best deserves real credit.”
Roth said that, at first, Summer Mondays felt risky, with the fear that it may add more stress for folks feeling behind on work for the week. That did not end up being a reality.
He also felt “uncomfortable pressure” at first. Roth said, “Slowing down while the world around you keeps going is a scary feeling as a CEO. But in today’s fast-paced world and culture, I’m realizing more and more that the moments of slow, particularly when others are moving fast, are the ones that help you see clearly.”
Luckily, clients were “very receptive and really understanding” when they were first informed, and the gamble paid off.
“I’m seeing a more motivated team, more creative thinking, more energized communication and better quality work,” said Roth, who spent his Mondays visiting family and friends, reading and writing. “The transition to a four-day workweek has shown clear improvements in job satisfaction, stress levels and work-life balance.”
He engaged the team for continuous feedback by sending weekly surveys to everyone to self-assess job satisfaction, stress levels, number of hours worked, creativity and more.
Experts say employee engagement is key. “No culture program should operate on autopilot, especially when experimenting with something new,” said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president of global recognition and research at Great Place to Work, a global authority on workplace culture. “Survey your employees to gather feedback and refine your program to make sure it meets the unique needs of your people.”
Although shorter workweeks aren’t always feasible for some professions, Lewis-Kulin said it’s not about where you work or your hours — it’s about who you work for. “If you’ve created a great workplace culture, your people will have a better experience, and that experience will drive business performance,” said Lewis-Kulin.
Julia Ramirez, 24, a cultural strategist for Dcdx in Prospect Heights, cherished her purposeful Monday downtime. “I often allot a few hours to creating art, visiting museums and on busier weeks, brainstorming ideas for current projects.”
In turn, this boosted her energy for the upcoming week “to set clearer intentions every day, knowing I have less days to complete weekly tasks.”
The firm’s director of strategy, Mara Stolzenbach, 26, agreed. The Bushwick resident felt “really eager to get moving” every Tuesday morning after a day of taking it slow. “I feel super rested and clear-headed on Tuesdays from focusing on restoring my well of energy.” She also adapted and implemented new strategies for efficient workflows during compressed work weeks.
Stolzenbach leaned into her wedding planning, including meeting with her rabbi. “Not having to take the afternoon off work [to do it] felt nice. Besides wedding planning, I have been spending my time trying to give my brain a rest from the stimulation of the weekend.”
While Fridays may become super social to get a jump-start on the weekend, Stolzenbach embraced Mondays for rest, reflection and rejuvenation. “I think Mondays are a perfect day for ‘me time,’ something that is harder and harder to find in an always on ‘hustle or else’ culture. Getting true breaks for yourself is so rare. Mondays are a great way to tap into that,” said Stolzenbach.
While Roth and team haven’t decided yet if the trial will extend throughout the year, he said, “At the very least, we’ll be doing it next summer.”
For Ramirez, the experiment will no doubt remain with her. “It’s helped me remember that space between myself and my job is really necessary,” said Ramirez. “I have felt empowered by and deserving of the extra day off to myself, recognizing that my life does not have to revolve around work for me to feel good about myself.”
