By Greg Ashton, founder at GROW, a media company and conference series specializing in online retail. Follow Greg here.
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Picture this: It’s 2007. The Sopranos is wrapping up on HBO, Alicia Keys’ “No One” is running rampant on the radio and self-help guru Tim Ferriss just published his hit book The 4-Hour Workweek. For the first time ever, one man dared to ask, what if we worked less?
Since the dawn of corporate America, CEOs and college grads alike have abided by the mentality of “work hard, play never,” often wearing 60+ hour workweeks as a badge of honor. So, after working 10-hour days in a coffee shop on his so-called Italian vacation, Ferriss asked himself, “Is working this much really the point?” One successful lecture circuit later and a seven-year run on the NYT bestseller list would lead us to believe that working smart is better than working hard.
Fast forward to today’s “Great Resignation”—in which employees are voluntarily resigning en masse post-pandemic—and Tim Ferriss’ ideology seems more relevant than ever. As the founder and CEO of my own growing company, I’ve been facing the same challenges that headlines have been reporting for the past year plus. Do people really not want to work anymore? Can I hire (and keep) top talent? And is Gen-Z changing the notion of input versus output, including the notion that financial compensation matters less than happiness and job satisfaction?
No, yes and yes.
No, people don’t want to not work, they just don’t want to work at bad jobs anymore. In fact, plenty of research shows that people who work are actually happier. And just this past year, writer and psychotherapist Bryan Robinson found that remote work increases employee happiness by 20%.
Yes, you can hire and keep top talent. Top talent just wants to be compensated for what they’re bringing to the table. I’m talking about the traditional things we know and love: good pay, benefits, vacation time… but I’m also referring to the intangible. A collaborative work culture, trust that your employees can make it to a dentist appointment and get their work done for the day, etc.
Back in 2007 when Tim Ferriss published his book, he actually had chapters detailing how employees could pitch remote work by taking sick days, still working, then building a paper trail for their bosses to which they could point at and say “look, I did it!” Today, that seems a little excessive, but the point remains the same. Trust your employees can get their work done without forcing them to abide by the 9-to-5 schedule.
And yes, Gen-Z is certainly changing the workforce. In my experience, there’s a vast difference between how Millennials and Gen-Z handle work interactions (and TikTok creators will never run dry of making fun of this dichotomy). But in actuality, their “work less, enjoy life more” mentality embodies exactly the type of messaging Tim Ferriss was trying to spread 15 years ago. As he once said in regard to the journey of self-improvement, “[there are successful people who] have conquered every mountain, slayed every dragon, and they’re still not happy.” Tim Ferriss and Gen-Z both agree that’s not the type of person worth being.
All of this is to say that more than ever, the four-hour workweek should be our goal. But how is this actually possible?
Consider that “doing something unimportant well does not make it important,” according to Ferris. As a CEO, I live by the 80/20 rule—spend 20% of your time on things that get you 80% of the results, not the other way around. Namely work smarter, not harder. Getting more granular, the only way to achieve a shorter work week is through total delegation. Outsource key projects, delegate key responsibilities and, if you’re a founder, trust your team to take over your original creation and make it better without you.
As a business leader, it’s important to fire yourself from key roles constantly. It’s tricky, but you have to let go; many people struggle to go from “founder” to “CEO” because they don’t know how to, or aren’t willing to, delegate. As Ferriss says, “you can start your own business and put handcuffs on yourself if you decide to be someone you aren’t.” Finding freedom from the long hours only comes from daring to let your work go and trusting that the people you’ve hired have your back.
In addition, consider this fact—as an entrepreneur, you’re probably always working. You might only be replying to emails and taking calls for four hours a week, but the rest of the week you’re still thinking about the business and moving it forward. In this way, spending less time on day-to-day tasks is actually good for the business. When your mind is free to create and focus on the big picture, your clarity of thought can improve and your best ideas can germinate.
In summary, while nobody can guarantee a consistent four-hour work week, the fundamental tactics that Ferriss lays out in his book can get you there. Delegation and time management are the only components. If you’re starting something new, expect to invest a lot of your time initially, but remember Newton’s first law of motion: An object in motion tends to stay in motion. The momentum you build can eventually allow you to reduce your workload and reduce your hours. The goal is to let your work do the work, and enjoy your life at the same time.