Your company may not have signed up for the 4 Day Week SA pilot, but you’ve already had two weeks with a day off. Be honest, how did it make you feel? Also, do you have any hot cross buns, pickled fish and Easter eggs left over? Whether you embraced a local tradition or spent time leisurely exploring Franschhoek with the family, I trust it was enjoyed.
Life is often about celebrating those rare moments with people you love. Always working and being constantly stressed out is no way to live. It not only has a negative effect on your health but your closest relationships too. Your family already spends too little time with you as it is. This is also true for those working from home.
Remote work is definitely a gamechanger and the future of work for many. However, even with the obvious benefit of minimising those hours lost in an endless commute, there is also the risk of not switching off. For many, work may still continue even after the laptop lid has been closed. Long after you’ve sent that last email and closed that task on ClickUp, there is still tomorrow’s work skulking in the shadows.
But wait, what if tomorrow was this Friday or Monday that just passed? Your very own version of a four-day workweek because of Good Friday and Family Day. That relief that was felt could be a recurring feeling. Best not to think of it as a day away from your desk, but more as a day to spend with your family (or loved ones or favourite book or…). This is where the magic of a four-day workweek kicks in.
Dear employer, consider what these last two days off meant for you and your employees. Dear employee, consider what those days meant for you and those closest to you. This was a great opportunity to be present and mindful of the moment. Even if you are currently working through a mountainous backlog, I trust you made those two days matter and bonus, you have another one coming up on 27 April! Aptly named, Freedom Day.
4 Day Week SA, INFJ, dear INFJ, 4 Day Workweek, 4 Day Week, Future Of Work, Entrepreneurship, Lead With Empathy, South Africa’s Digital Revolution, Work Time Reduction, Reduced Workweek Revolution, Wellbeing In The Workplace, Proudly South African
David-John Wayne Bailey is an INFJ from Cape Town, a proud pioneer pilot participant of 4 Day Week SA and an advocate of a four-day week for everyone working in South Africa.
