Naaya Founder Sinikiwe Dhliwayo Is Ready To Implement the 4 Day Work Week

Just last week, Maryland became the first state to propose a bill that would subsidize companies that tested a four-day work week. The decision comes on the heels of the non-profit 4 Day Week Global's six-month-long experiment in Ireland, where the group tested employee productivity with 20 percent less mandatory work time and no adjustments to pay. The results were overwhelmingly positive: Companies in the program reported increased revenue and improved employee health and well-being.

Many small business owners weighed in on the results as well. Sinikiwe Dhliwayo, founder of Naaya, a company centering Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the wellness conversation, is in the process of growing her team and plans to implement the practice off the bat. When asked about her relationship with hustle culture on a recent episode of WorkParty, Dhliwayo painted a picture using her experience as an editor in the fast-paced publishing world. "Being an immigrant, my identity was really tied to what I did at work and my output," she said. But a level of care and compassion for humans was something she had never experienced with managers in the field. "Their concern was solely what I was producing, and they didn't really care about me as a person."

As a founder, she may check her email five days a week, but she doesn't expect that of her team. In fact, she believes a four-day workweek is imperative to a positive company culture. "Goals and deadlines are effectively arbitrary. We make those things up, so the work will always be there. But the care and compassion for a human person are really paramount to me," she continued. She's also implemented a no Monday or Friday meeting policy to combat Zoom fatigue and focus on deep work. "If this is a business about being well, at the end of the day, I care about the human first," says Dhliwayo.

Tune into this week's episode of WorkParty to learn more about Sinikiwe Dhliwayo's thoughts on hustle culture, the four-day work week, and how she's making the wellness industry more inclusive.


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