5 Things / The Awakening of the 4-Day Work Week
A coordinated and formal pilot 4-day workweek campaign has been launched in the UK. Other countries such as Ireland and New Zealand are piloting this as well. The number of U.S.-based companies adopting 4-day workweeks is also increasing.
The UK’s 6-month campaign will be studied by major universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. Participating companies are equipped with expertise, tools, and resources to help make the pilot a success. The program officially begins in June with onboarding, mentoring, and training happening in advance.
This matters because people are burnt out and an extra day off work can provide better balance, rest, and time with loved ones – with no loss in pay for employees.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how this movement evolves and what it means for the future of work.
CultureAmp Paying ERG Leaders
CultureAmp is the latest company I read about which is paying Employee Resource Group (ERG) leaders. The company provides $3,000 compensation for up to 4 leads per ERG and $6,000 for 1 Chair per group. This matters because ERGs, just by their design, have been created for historically underrepresented people, who are typically the same people affected by gender, race, and/or other pay gaps.
U.S. Air Force Allows Pronouns
The Air Force specifically created a policy allowing members to share pronouns in email signature blocks. This is notable because it’s a clear, specific policy, as opposed to the Navy and Marines, which leave it up to the individual with no guidance either way and the Army which is weighing its options. This matters because there are more than two genders, and this explicit policy can reduce the risk of misgendering, particularly for trans and non-binary people.
Swimsuit Issue Gets Equitable
Sports Illustrated magazine decided to only allow ads from brands that are helping drive gender equality forward in its next Swimsuit issue (coming in March). The ads must showcase the progress each brand is making to build equity for all women. This matters because it’s an example of a company using its own power and influence to set standards that can ultimately lead to greater representation, equity, and inclusion. There’s a lot of promise here, and I’m looking forward to seeing what those ads look like and how they actually illustrate this progress towards equity.
Amy Schneider’s Historic Ride Ends but…
By now, most Americans have probably heard about Amy Schneider's historic run as a Jeopardy champion (which ended this week). She set the record for the most wins by a woman, and the second-most wins of all time. What I love most about this is hearing comments from my in-laws like "She's just great! So smart and quick with the buzzer." In other words, her trans identity may be one of the least interesting things about her. Her visibility matters, especially for trans people struggling to come out. And now she's signed with Creative Arts Agency so I suspect we'll see a lot more of her...