5 things / 4 day workweek
How would you like to work only 4 days per week? This week I learned that Microsoft tested a 4 day workweek in Japan the entire month of August, and saw productivity increase by 40% from July. They are testing out some variations, but look for this to increasingly become a retention strategy.
Here are some other cool things I learned this week:
Goldman Sachs raised the bar for banks by updating their parental leave policy to provide 20 weeks of paid leave, regardless of parent's gender or caregiver status.
In a win for front line employees, Bank of America will increase its minimum wage to to $20/hour, making it the highest in retail banking. It's currently $17/hour.
T-Mobile will now allow its front line employees to include pronouns on their name badges. This proactive move will reduce the risk of transgender and non-binary employees being misgendered by guests.
Finally, a new trend is employers (such as tech company Ivanti) providing unlimited volunteer time as an employee benefit. I love this because volunteering is proven to improve mood and lower stress.