Dan Price founded his card payment company when he was just in his teens. By the time he was 31, his company was already worth millions. This CEO is known to be very upbeat and positive, but he also witnessed a lot of inequality. Price could see that there were hard workers that were still starving and struggling. He thought the world was full of greed, especially the rich getting richer by taking advantage of average, everyday workers. Price couldn't stand by and do nothing.
Price did some research, and found out that people need an income of about $70,000/year in the US to be happy. In order to give his staff that salary, Price decreased his own pay from $1.1 million to $70,000. This move to increase salaries yielded many positive results. First, the revenue for Price's company went up. Many employees began to own homes and start their own families.
Even though people gave Price different titles like "greatest boss," his decision still took some flak. Some people thought that the increase in salary would lead to frivolous spending. However, that was not the case.
Two senior staff at Price's company were not happy that the junior staffs' salaries jumped significantly overnight. They thought it would make them lazy. But the opposite occurred. Employees began pulling more weight. And when the employees stopped worrying about money, they had time and energy to take care of themselves. Everyone also felt more free and spent more time with their families as well.
Price wasn't always this generous and understanding. During the downturn of the economy in 2008, Price had to cut costs and keep salaries low.
Price made many sacrifices for his staff. He had to rent out his house, give up driving new cars, and eliminate other luxuries. Seeing this, his staff all chipped in to get him a brand-new car. Price says that he feels more fulfilled now than when he was making millions each year.
Many people are familiar with the typical 5-day workweek. It can be a gruelling routine. Some companies are in the vanguard of a new direction. They decided to decrease work hours and implement a 4-day workweek without decreasing pay.
Companies cut meetings and streamlined many tasks. Initially, the trials wanted to see how the shortened workweek would affect health, happiness, and productivity. Employees reported massive improvements to their well-being.
Many staff members said they feel less stressed, and they're experiencing better work-life balance. Productivity either remained the same or increased. Some companies reported that employees found ways to work smarter. Overall, the 4-day workweek has proven to be a success.
Employees in the 19th century used to work six to seven days a week! It wasn't until the 1920s that the idea of weekends began. Even though there are so many benefits to a 4-day workweek, not everyone is ready to implement it.
Many bosses and business owners don't want to give employees a 4-day workweek. Because they fear that they would be paying the employees the same wages, but with less output. Other employers think that as the staff does the tasks more often, they will get better at them. So fewer work days mean less practice.
More companies are thinking of new ways to improve and invigorate businesses. The general trends dictate the direction of many companies. For example, a lot of companies are using less plastic in their packaging. This is because the public wants designs and packages to be more Earth-friendly. If the general public begins to talk about work-life balance and employee well-being, then perhaps more companies will take action as well.