In the beginning, when Bill Kowalcic first heard that his company Advanced RV was trying out the four-day workweek and he was bombarded with questions.
“All we were feeling a bit anxious, like how will we be able get our task completed? Will we be able to complete the task okay? Will this hurt our feelings?” says Kowalcic, an experienced craftsman, who works in the department of finishing.
One year, and half later he’s got the answers.
The team has not only identified shortcuts and time saving strategies and he’s happy on his job.
“Gosh it’s been wonderful,” he says.
“I’ve never worked in a situation that I’ve never said before and at the end of the three days I’m ready to go to work on early on the Monday.”
The trial is being rolled out across the world however, only a only a few manufacturers have participated.
Advanced RV constructs custom luxurious motorhomes using Mercedes-Benz cargo vans that are located in Willoughby, Ohio. Advanced RV is among more than 200 businesses and a small number of manufacturers who have participated in a global study conducted by the organisation 4 Day Week Global.
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In the course of six months, employers will reduce their working hours and pay the same salary. The aim is not to accomplish less work, but to keep 100% efficiency by increasing energy and efficiency into the workplace, while also reducing burning out and fatigue.
The stories of success that came from the trial have given an exhausted public with the hope that a more balanced work-life balance is possible. From the 42 American and Canadian companies that participated in with the study in 2022 none has reported that they will be working for 40 hours a week.
A close look at the way Advanced RV has managed to dramatically reduce the amount of time it spends working while maximizing productivity, reveals the most important elements such as a tolerance to risk as well as confidence, imagination and willingness to learn.
“The most important thing I can do as a business owner is to”
The CEO of the company Mike Neundorfer says he first was aware of the work week that spans four days approximately two years back.
in 2021 Iceland has reported that two studies that involved 2,500 people, the majority of whom were government employees who worked shorter hours with the same amount of money resulted in better health and wellbeing, with no decrease in productivity. Some areas of the country workers were even more productive after reducing their work hours.
The idea was a big hit with Neundorfer.
“Think about the idea. What other impact could an individual be able to have on the number of employees other than offering them 50 holiday days per year, or an all-day weekend for three days every weekend?” says Neundorfer. “It seemed to be the most significant thing that I could accomplish as the manager and owner of my business.”
Neundorfer who established Advanced RV in 2012 after running other businesses that had been successful He had never imagined the company to be a 24-hour type of business. His staff members don’t work more than 40 hours per week, even though it means customers have to have to wait for two years to receive their customized RVs.
“We might be able to make more money and work out by working work overtime, but we rarely did,” the man declares.
However, in April 2022 the president decided to go for the opposite approach, shifting everyone to working 32 hours per week without any reduction in pay.
Neundorfer recognized that the gamble was one that he believed to have the chance of winning 50/50 . The vast majority of the other businesses participating in the trial of four days of work employ office employees. A lot of them are non-profit organizations.
However, since it is a small firm, he claims it was simple for him to try new things. Advanced RV has 50 employees There are no shareholders except for Neundorfer as well as his spouse, and there is no formal board of directors.
He was ok in spite of the odds.
“Everybody will not feel this way,” he says.
Skeptics among the group
In actual fact the moment that Neundorfer first began talking to his employees about the trial of a four-day workweek, nobody was overjoyed.
“I am raising my hand, and thought, I don’t think that we should be doing this. This will not be a good idea,” says Tricia Eller who joined the company as a consultant in 2014. She is accountable for customer relations.
She believed that everyone had to be working every day of the week.
“This will be how the business gets conducted,” she insisted at the time.
In charge of Mondays, which are her off days she did her job from home to make sure that clients received the attention they are used to.
A look for efficiency
Unfazed, Neundorfer began searching for efficiency.
He asked each department if there were any tools or equipment that could help speed up work. The upholsterers wanted an industrial-grade sewing equipment that could enable them to tie carpets in half the time.
“This was a no-brainer,” he says. “We considered the cost, and we did not have to look at an Excel spreadsheet. We knew it was something we ought to take care of.”
In the final stage Kowalcic said that he and his teammates were focused on the procedures they could eliminate without sacrificing quality.
“We began making additional templates, smaller boxes and jigs to assist us with tasks that are routine,” he says.
They also became more conscious of who was most efficiently and quickly and began to divide the tasks according to.
Each change may only make them wait a couple of minutes.
“But If you can save a minimum of six or seven minutes for six or seven items and you’re beginning to increase your productivity a bit and you’ll get a more done,” Kowalcic says.
The productivity of the workforce took a decline, but happiness has since gone on the rise.
Neundorfer states that Advanced RV did see a decrease in output as the result of switching to a 32-hour working week.
“You reduce productivity” the expert says. “And when you’re losing productivity, you also lose quantity, and ultimately you lose profits.”
After a one and a half years into this trial, he states the company has almost recovered the productivity losses.
“And I’m sure that eventually some of the advancements will surpass the work we could accomplish in just the 40-hour timeframe,” the man says.
The evaluation is based on satisfaction of employees the test has been a huge success.
Kowalcic is now spending his Fridays on his bike and working on his home renovation and getting ready for his evening gigs with his heavy new wave group Public Squares. Then he enjoys the weekend.
“Spending longer with my family or just a little bit of time to relax, meditate is a great way to keep me focused,” he says.
On Mondays when she’s not working, Eller in customer relations continues to check her emailshe claims she cannot stop and she’ll take time to spend with her mother who is now retired or take a trip to the movie.
“Talk about me Sundays, and you’ll see me at my best because I know I’ll will have the rest of Monday to unwind,” she says.
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