
Treehouse CEO says 32-hour, 4-day workweek created “a lack of work ethic” - danso
https://www.businessinsider.com/productivity-tips-four-day-workweek-2018-8
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cdubzzz
Not much of value at all in this article, but it’s worth pointing out the
actual quote used for the head —

"It created this lack of work ethic in me that was fundamentally detrimental
to the business and to our mission," Carson added. "It actually was a terrible
thing."

In other words, all we know from the article is that this affected _the CEO’s_
work ethic.

Edit: In fact, I think this is worth a flag for being both misleading and
unsubstantive.

~~~
nickbarnwell
It was unclear to me from reading the article whether the thirty-two hour week
is still in effect for employees or not. He's abandoned it, but has the rest
of the company?

It seems reasonable that a schedule that suits the deep focus and creativity
required for knowledge work is not as well adapted to the demands placed on a
CEO.

~~~
cdubzzz
There is a little note in there re: the employees:

"Carson explained to GrowthLab Live recently that the four-day workweek he had
for his employees was ultimately nixed in 2016."

And I generally agree that a CEO in particular may struggle with this, which
is why I give his personal statement the benefit of the doubt. Beyond that I
would expect some sort of actual data to support any other claim about the
business as a whole. This article implies a lot and delivers essentially
nothing.

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stock_toaster
I always wondered[1] if shorter days would be better for folks than
fewer/longer days would be. 5x6 instead of 4x8.

I figure you would have shorter "monday/friday syndrome" days. Longer hours
also make you more mentally tired, etc.

[1]: I have /absolutely/ no evidence to back this up.

~~~
ac29
I switched to a 5x6 schedule earlier this year and its fantastic. Less traffic
in both directions, more time in the morning to exercise and enjoy breakfast,
easier to run errands in the afternoon. I also feel less burnt out and more
productive during the time I am at work.

I took a small cut in salary to do it, but it was completely worth it.

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sharkmerry
Did he start the shorter work week in 2006 or 2015?

The article quotes

> Back in 2015, Carson said he was motivated by those findings.

but if you go to the atlantic article
([https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/396527/case-32-hour-...](https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/396527/case-32-hour-
workweek/))

It says since 06. A 1 year experiment doesnt seem that long or if it was since
06, shouldnt he have noticed it was bad for him before a whole decade passed
(ended in 2016)

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RickJWagner
As technology advances, it seems there will be a need for less work hours. Not
yet, though it seems.

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thedz
As with any other big cultural shift (I see some parallels with remote
working), it looks like there must be processes and other practices/support
systems/safeguards in place to make sure it runs smoothly.

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thedz
It's important to note that the CEO makes pains to specify that it created a
lack of work ethic _in him_ :

[https://youtu.be/CJcTdA55aWA?t=65](https://youtu.be/CJcTdA55aWA?t=65)

Whether or it meant his employees were delivering less work wasn't mentioned.
_He_ felt like he had less of a work ethic, so it seemed to be nixed.

Which is kind of shitty tbh, if it was just him. Because I think it's also
reasonable to say that the CEO/founder of a startup will probably need to put
in more hours than their employees. It's not fair maybe, but then, the
CEO/founder is also reaping most of the rewards.

~~~
danso
If the 4-day week was good for the rest of his employees, why would he roll it
back? I think he’s being diplomatic in his explanation, as it doesn’t look
good to insinuate in public that the failure of a bold idea was the fault of
the employees.

~~~
thedz
That's fair enough, it sounds like as with any other big cultural shift (I see
some parallels with remote working), there must be processes and other
safeguards in place to make sure it runs smoothly.

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orasis
I work 12 hours on Wednesdays and only 1-2 hours the other days. I’m plenty
successful, and most importantly, ridiculously happy.

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gaius
Do any of these supposedly lazy employees have meaningful equity
participation? Or is this just another self-entitled techbro whining that
other people aren’t making him richer at the rate he’s accustomed to?

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aetherson
He said it made for a lack of work ethic in _himself_.

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gaius
But it’s his employees that he’s making work more hours, so that doesn’t make
any sense

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aetherson
So, what, your initial comment had truthiness even though it made a complaint
based on not reading or misreading the article?

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danso
We aren’t required to automatically accept someone’s claim as the truth when
the evidence suggests otherwise. The CEO removed the 4-day week for
_everyone_.

~~~
aetherson
For sure, but the starter of this thread suggested he called his employees
lazy. He didn't. He said it killed _his_ work ethic, and that _he_ now worked
a 65 hour week.

It might be that for his median employee, it increased hourly productivity --
but by less than 12%. Or that it didn't affect hourly productivity. Or, as a
peer suggested, that it just felt shitty to lay some people off while others
worked less than a conventional "full" work week for full salary.

