#012. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang: Silicon Valley author on the four-day workweek; rest’s impact on creativity and problem-solving; deep play; refocusing our relationship with technology

Many of us check our email within 30 seconds of waking. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of three books, Shorter, Rest, and The Distraction Addiction, shares in this episode why we might consider refocusing our relationship with technology (“managing our attention”), why mind wandering, deep play, and rest are so critical for creativity and problem solving, and why many companies are successfully adopting a four-day workweek or a shorter workday.

Resources:
"How better routines create happier workers," (Financial Times, Sept 2020)
"How do you switch to a four-day week?”  Kingsley (The Economist Applied) (Oct 2020)
“Surprising COVID-19 Side Effect: More Companies Adopt the 4-day Workweek,” Fast Company, Aug 2020.
“To Safely Reopen, Make the Workweek Shorter. Then Keep It Shorter,” The Atlantic, Apr 2020.
“It’s Time to End 9-5 Office Hours,” The Guardian, Mar 2020.
“Shorter Hours Make Stronger Businesses,” Wall Street Journal, Feb 2020.
“Why Companies Should Say Goodbye to the 996 Work Culture, and Hello to 4-day Weeks,” South China Morning Post, Apr 2019.
Talks at Google- Alex's interview at Google (2019)
Strategy and Rest- Alex’s consultancy  
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/askpang
Twitter and Instagram: @askpang

Alex’s book recommendations:
The Innovation Delusion (Vinsel + Russell)
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Csikszentmihalyi)
The First Emancipator: Slavery, Religion, and the Quiet Revolution of Robert Carter (Levy)

Bio:
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang studies people, technologies, and the worlds they make. His latest book SHORTER explains how companies all over the world, in a variety of industries, are shortening their working hours while improving productivity and profitability.

Through his company Strategy + Rest, Alex speaks and works around the world with companies who want to apply these insights in their organizations.

Alex received a Ph.D. in history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania, and has been a lecturer or visiting scholar at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Oxford University, and Microsoft Research Cambridge. 

Alex lives in Silicon Valley.

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