We operate on a four day workweek.

Many, many excellent writers and journalists have addressed burnout culture. They’ve covered toxic productivity and the death of leisure, how the new American aristocracy is exacerbating the wealth gap, polarizing politics, and fueling class anxiety with meritocratic myths, and why the most ‘successful,’ ‘accomplished,’ and wealthy people in the world actually work more hours in the day, not less, but feel less fulfilled and happy than peers who work fewer hours and earn lower salaries.

Less has been said about the role that management – people in positions of power, influence, or prestige – should play in correcting these imbalances. Instead of grappling with systemic structural issues in the workplace and working to fix them, they’ve given us ‘wellness subsidies,’ ‘unlimited time off’ (which almost always means less time taken), and ultimately put the onus of responsibility on us, the employees, under the guise of self-care. All the while, the digital-first, always-on culture of many pandemic era workplaces means that if you opt out, you’re still never really away – and the cost(s) of truly going OOO will be there waiting for you upon your return. We have to change that, and that begins with management decisions like these.

People are more than the sum of their productivity. If you are in a position to make changes that would help them – us, you, everyone – and you do not, you have chosen to be part of the problem. But even if productivity is your primary concern, research shows shorter workweeks and time off decrease workplace stress, increase productivity, and improve job satisfaction.

In her Atlantic essay, “Only Your Boss Can Cure Your Burnout,” Olga Khazan writes:

“At its core, burnout is a work problem. Though wellness influencers might suggest various life hacks to help push through pandemic torpor, actual burnout experts say that tips and tricks are not the best way to treat the condition. Instead, they say, burnout is a problem created by the workplace, and changes to the workplace are the best way to fix it.”

That is why KM Strategies observes a four-day workweek. Except in special circumstances, we operate on US Eastern Time between 8:30 AM and 6 PM ET from Monday to Thursday. Time off is time off, not time spent working remotely. Current and future staff are required to take at least four weeks of vacation annually.

I know that what I do at my company will not solve the problem and will, in fact, likely make my work harder at times – at least until other organizations follow suit. And yet I feel a responsibility, because the modern workplace culture has become untenable. I have seen and felt the effects in my own life, both personally and among my friends and family, since I began my professional career.

I hope this decision will prompt reflection from others when they receive my emails and notice our hours in my signature, receive an out-of-office reply, or read this post. I hope that it will prompt them to consider their own personnel policies if they are in management, or bring them up to their managers if they are not. I know how privileged I am to make this call and how many people cannot. It is for that very reason that it feels important. Individual drops make ripples, and ripples make waves, and waves become great tides that, over time, chip away at rocky status-quo shorelines, reshaping them into something smoother, safer, and more sustainable.

I hope this is one drop of many to come.

Kindred Motes

Founder and Managing Director, KMSG