Four-day Workweek Boosts Morale and Bottom Line

Thanks to the implementation of W. E. Deming's manufacturing principles, the staff at Unique Dental Group has successfully switched to a four-day workweek and is enjoying more leisure time.

When master ceramist and creative artist J'neil Oxley founded Unique Dental Group in 2006 with five employees, she wanted to create a different type of lab, one where people are free to share ideas and see those ideas take off. "When you really listen to and are aware of employees, it becomes their company and the whole environment changes in the laboratory," says Oxley, whose Cottonwood Heights, Utah laboratory has grown to 31 employees and last year grossed $2.4 million.

Concerned about work-life balance, employee overtime and rising fuel costs, Oxley and CEO Patricia Godwin wanted to switch to a four-day, 10-hour-per-day workweek last June. They challenged their staff to make it happen by implementing W. E. Deming's manufacturing concepts--a production...