Fuel Transport recently made the change to a 35-hour work week as part of a larger initiative to invest in the health, happiness, and growth of our employees. This particular policy generated happiness pretty instantly for a few reasons.
It gives them room to breathe.
Our lives are full of priorities – work, kids, friends, appointments, commitments – an extra five hours a week can make all the difference in our employees’ work/life balance. No one should be scrambling to get everything done in a day, and that extra sense of balance and peace does wonders for the hours they are on the clock.
It improves their focus.
When you’re given fewer hours to get the job done, something fascinating happens. You can start to work more purposefully and are less susceptible to distraction. Our teams are already noticing that a shorter workday is making them more efficient than ever.
It makes them feel appreciated.
Not many companies take steps to give employees their time back, which is why some people on our team thought we were joking. But we’re not. We’re hyper-aware of how important our employees are, and want them to know it. Technology is rapidly evolving our industry, but not without these human beings, and amazing things happen when they feel their best.
It’s a sign of good things to come.
This is more than a one-time stunt or fleeting gesture of appreciation for our employees. It’s one phase of a longer-term strategy to optimize human intelligence (H.I.) for the good of the company, the industry, and the world. We’re actively changing how the modern logistics worker is treated and the 35-hour work week is just the beginning.
It gives them more time for… well, it’s none of our business, really.
Work takes up so much of our lives, and there are so many pressures on our mental health these days. If we, as an employer, can give our people time that they don’t have to account for, it means more time to enjoy their lives, in whatever ways they want. We can’t think of a better gift, after all they’ve given to us.
Learn more about how we’re prioritizing our talent’s well-being here.