📅 Is the 4-day workweek taking over?

PLUS: The world is buying fewer condoms. January 11, 2022 [The Hustle] Ever work for a jerk? We want to know if you’ve ever quit a job over a boss’s behavior. [Tell us about it here](. Today’s rundown: - 4 day workweek: Some tech companies are making it a thing. - Condom conundrum: The world is using fewer than expected. - Wage study: Many underestimate what they could make elsewhere. - Around the web: FBI rabbit holes, faster browsers, and more cool internet finds. Let’s do it. The big idea [4-day workweek gif]( 4-day workweeks are the new trend taking over tech. In 1908, a New England cotton mill [instituted]( a 5-day workweek. The move inspired others to follow suit over the next 30 years until the [Fair Labor Standards Act]( made 2-day weekends official in 1938. Now, over a century later, some tech companies are [shaving]( another day off the workweek, per Inc. Bolt, a hot new ecommerce startup… … just made its 4-day workweek permanent after a 3-month trial. In a companywide survey following the trial, Bolt employees noted several benefits to the new schedule: - 84% said they were more productive - 86% said they were [more efficient]( with their time - 84% saw improvement in their work-life balance While many have been quick to praise the move as a generous perk for Bolt employees, CEO Ryan Breslow says the move is selfish — citing improved productivity across the board. He’s also quick to mention that not all companies are suited for the shift. Bolt makes a point to measure worker impact, which will help sniff out any decreases in productivity over time. Bolt isn’t the first place to see positive results Iceland’s national government [trialed]( a 4-day workweek between 2015-2019, and found worker productivity either remained the same or improved. Even in Japan — where workaholism is so common there’s a word for overworking oneself to death, “kiroshi” — companies like Panasonic are letting employees [opt in]( to the 4-day schedule. As for which day? Bolt went with Fridays, with most employees working Monday to Thursday to ensure no one feels like they’re missing anything on their day off. The Wanderlust Group, a startup that builds software for outdoor activities like boating and camping, also follows a 4-day workweek, but decided to [give]( employees Mondays off. Sounds like a pretty effective cure for a case of the Mondays. Read more: The Hustle’s Mark Dent went deep on “[Time vs. Task](,” and the most effective way to measure work. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=4-day+workweeks+are+the+new+trend+taking+over+tech.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F01112022-4-day-workweeks%3Futm_campaign%3D4-day%2Bworkweeks%26utm_content%3D01112022-4-day-workweeks%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS The price of improvement: A RetailMeNot survey [showed]( 49% of consumers plan to spend money on their New Year’s resolutions. Return of the box office: Spider-Man: No Way Home [reached]( $1.5B+ in global box office sales, making it the 8th-highest grossing movie of all time. Moving on: Signal CEO Moxie Marlinspike [announced]( he would be stepping down as CEO. WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton will take over as interim CEO until a replacement is found. Strava is one fitness company that didn’t crash back to earth in 2021 — the exercise tracking app [increased]( revenue by 68%, reeling in annual revenue of ~$170m and 2m to 3m paid subscribers. --------------------------------------------------------------- Hey — enjoy getting quick updates on what you care about? Take [20 seconds]( to personalize your Snippets. Pick your preferences👇 and we’ll send you more of what you love. Boom. [Personalize my Email →]( Condoms [condom sales]( The world is using fewer condoms than expected You might not know of Karex, but a lot of people use its products. The Malaysian company is responsible for producing [20%]( of the world’s condoms, and it exports 5B condoms each year. Karex stock has been in a long, slow decline since 2016, but at the start of the pandemic, hopes were high that the trend would reverse with everyone bored at home. Yet its stock is currently down ~60% from its 2020 high. Why? Partially because condom use hasn’t spiked on a net basis, as hotels and clinics have closed and some governments halted condom handouts. The company is now pivoting to medical glove-making, which seems reasonable given the state of the world. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=The+world+is+using+fewer+condoms+than+expected%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F01112022-condoms%3Futm_campaign%3D4-day%2Bworkweeks%26utm_content%3D01112022-condoms%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Wage Quit [worker]( Study: Workers don’t know they’re underpaid If you had to guess, what do you think your co-worker makes? How about someone in your same field, but at a different company? A [new study]( from MIT, UC Berkeley, the University of Cologne, and the London School of Economics suggests that many people underestimate their colleagues’ incomes. The study examined workers in Germany It asked 516 part- and full-time workers in 2019 and 2020 how much they think they’d make if they had to find a new job in the same occupation within 3 months. Most people believed they’d make about the same. The truth? They were actually underestimating others’ wages and their occupation’s median salary. This is especially prevalent among employees in low-paying jobs And these incorrect beliefs tend to keep workers from looking elsewhere while accepting lower wages. The study claims that if workers knew the truth, 10% to 17% of jobs would no longer be viable without a pay hike. How does this relate to the Great Resignation in the US? Business Insider [spoke with]( Nick Bunker, Indeed’s economic research director. He said that while the German and US economies are similar, the countries handled the pandemic differently. Germany [subsidized payrolls](, allowing workers to remain where they were, while many US workers lost their jobs and turned to unemployment. This, coupled with companies advertising increasingly higher wages to court workers, could have motivated [job changes](. Btw: Though it may feel taboo, you are most likely within your rights to discuss wages with your co-workers, per the [National Labor Relations Act](. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Study%3A+Workers+don%E2%80%99t+know+they%E2%80%99re+underpaid%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F01112022-underpaid-workers%3Futm_campaign%3D4-day%2Bworkweeks%26utm_content%3D01112022-underpaid-workers%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( TRENDS Trends you’ve been missing out on: - [Air conditioning is heating up](. We do love a boring business that’s winning big. Interest in AC in the US doubled last summer and shows no sign of slowing down soon. Summer rush, incoming. - [Neurodiversity is the new normal](. Because a different brain isn’t a bad thing. Entrepreneurs and businesses are opting for inclusive advertising and celebrating differences. Hip-hip hooray! - [People adore their rare collectibles](. Today, we mean the fungible kind. You know a chicken nugget sold for $100k last year, right? We sifted for niches that are extremely promising in 2022. We dive deeper in the article. And churn out reports like this on the regs. Get them delivered fresh every week. [Try Trends for $1 →]( AROUND THE WEB 💉 On this day: In 1922, a 14-year-old boy [became]( the 1st person to receive insulin as a treatment for diabetes. 🐇 Useful: If you feel like falling into a rabbit hole, the FBI’s [FOIA Library]( includes a variety of files that you can freely browse, like this one on [Colonel Sanders](. 💻 How to: Here’s how to [speed up]( your browser experience using bookmarks, shortcuts, and other strategies. 🚪 That’s interesting: This [article]( from 2014 feels even more relevant in the work-from-home world. It discusses how privacy — not open-format offices or monitoring — increases employees’ productivity. 🧠Cure boredom: Sad that you can only play [Wordle]( once a day? Here’s a [trove]( of wordplay games and facts. 🐍 Aww: And now, a tiny snake [says hello](. Tweet of the day [workweek meme] The difference is real. (Source: [Twitter]() SHARE THE HUSTLE Hey. Stop keeping us a secret. Refer just 3 people and we’ll start to send some goodies as a thank you. [My First Million ebook]( Spread the news. Help us grow 🌱 [Share The Hustle 🤠→]( Or copy this custom referral link: [ Your referral count: 0 How did you like today’s email? Today's email was brought to you by [Trung Phan](, [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, [Rob Litterst](. Editing by: Jennifer “Long weekends, forever” Wang. 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