Amazon will begin beta-testing a 30-hour workweek in an experiment that will consist of teams of part-time employees, including the managers.
These employees at Amazon, where the corporate culture has been publicly criticized as workaholic, will agree to 25 percent reduction in salary commensurate with their reduced 30-hour workweek schedule, according to The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. They will still receive full benefits at the company as their full-time peers.
The 30-hour schedule revolves around a four-day, four-hour block with flexible hours built in. These workers will report Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the remaining 14 hours to be determined.
In a company statement reported by The Washington Post, Amazon said, “We want to create a work environment that is tailored to a reduced schedule and still fosters success and career growth."
“This initiative was created with Amazon's diverse workforce in mind and the realization that the traditional full-time schedule may not be a 'one size fits all' model," the statement continued.
This “diverse workforce” the company is targeting with this pilot program may be a way the company boosts the number of female employees.
According to the company’s own statistics, women account for 39 percent of its worldwide workforce, but just 24 percent of its managerial ranks.
However, according to a 2015 CNET report, Amazon.com led all major tech firms in the hiring of women but fell a few points shy of Apple for having the largest percentage of women in leadership roles.
The workload of these experimental teams will be projects that reflect the time they have to complete them. According to a company posting, “part-time employees’ projects will be carefully managed to align with schedules ... They will share the same objective of all of our teams: to build great things on behalf of our customers.”
These part-time employees have the option of transitioning into full-time roles with the company. Amazon is looking at both internal and external applicants for this module.
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