Starting from January 8th next year, Nike Greater China will implement a 4-day work week, with 4 working days and 3 rest days.

According to media reports, Nike Greater China recently released an internal memo announcing the launch of a new hybrid work model.

Under the new work model, the workweek will be reduced to four days from Monday to Thursday, with three days off, while compensation and other benefits remain unchanged.

The internal memo stated that the new hybrid work model will be officially implemented starting from January 8, 2024, and will only apply to office employees. The change in work mode is aimed at "enhancing connections and collaboration among everyone" and "better serving our consumers".

It is reported that Nike has made multiple changes to its hybrid office policy since 2020. During the pandemic, Nike headquarters implemented a work-from-home system, and 15 months later, Nike shifted to a flexible work model of "3+2", which means three days of in-person work and two days of remote work. On October 19, according to media reports, a Nike spokesperson stated that the in-person work time will be extended to four days starting from January next year.

This announcement of the "4-day workweek" by Nike Greater China is not the first in the country. In February last year, Ctrip took the lead in implementing the "3+2" hybrid work system, which means three days of office work and two days of remote work, becoming the first company in China to actually implement a hybrid office system.

In October this year, Qunar started a "hybrid office experiment", dividing employees into four experimental groups based on their duration of remote work. Employees can choose their own work location and duration. In a company-wide memo, Liu Lianchun expressed the hope that this approach can "explore cooler work methods and find the best balance between work efficiency and life happiness in different modes".

Will flexible work models become mainstream?

In recent years, flexible work models have become popular worldwide, partly due to the demand for remote work during the pandemic. The non-profit organization "4 Day Week Global" has actively advocated and coordinated efforts to promote this work model around the world, with participation from companies in Ireland, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

In October 2020, tech giant Microsoft embraced the concept of a flexible workplace and adopted three hybrid work models, each with detailed plans that employees can apply for based on their needs.

In May 2021, Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated in an email to all Google employees that they will implement a hybrid work week, with a combination of office work and remote work. It is expected that about 60% of employees will spend three days a week in the office, while 20% will permanently work from home. At the beginning of this year, Fórsa, the largest public sector union in Ireland, supported a movement to reduce the standard weekly working hours from 40 to 32. Irish activists believe that it is possible to reduce the weekly working hours to 32 without reducing productivity.

However, flexible working may pose certain challenges for management. According to media reports, some managers believe that remote work increases the difficulty of human resource management and security management. They state that "after implementing remote work, companies need to make adjustments in employee relations management, training and development, performance management and evaluation."

After the rise of remote work, some companies have also proposed the slogan "return to the office," emphasizing the offline connection between employees and the company. Companies such as Meta, Apple, and Tesla have required employees to work "in person (in the office)" for at least 3 days a week.