Q&A: Qwick CEO details his company’s 4-day workweek trial

The idea of a four-day workweek has been gaining traction, and hospitality gig-work platform Qwick is the latest to try out the idea. The Phoenix, AZ-based company kicked-off a pilot project today for most of its 200-strong workforce, with the aim of boosting staff well-being and even productivity.

The five-day, 40-hour workweek has been the norm for most workers since the early part of the 20th century. While there have been calls for a shorter week for decades, the idea has yet to gain mainstream acceptance.  But it is getting more serious consideration from companies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many businesses to take a fresh look at work practices. Unilever, Bolt and Kickstarter are among the companies that have either trialed the idea recently or adopted it permanently.

At Qwick, workers will switch from the typical five-day, 38-hour week in place since the company launched in 2018, to 32 hours a week spread over four days. (Employees will receive the same pay as they did for a five day week.) The trial, which applies to Qwick’s full-time staffers, will run until July 2022.

Qwick

Qwick’s workers handle a range of common business roles, including sales, marketing, finance and IT. Account managers and operational staff also interact with Qwick’s hospitality industry clients and workers (or “business partners” and “professionals” as Qwick calls them), as part of its online staffing business. Most staff involved in the trial will now work Monday through Thursday, though some will work over the weekend on a rotating basis to meet customer needs.