Almost 4 weeks ago Becky and Paul announced in our company update that we’d be moving to a 4 day working week! The team were excited and wondered how it might work for them. They set about choosing their Monday or Friday off, and started to trial the new working week.
To see more, and the reasons behind the #4dayworkweek, click here.
This new ethos was one that Becky and Paul spent a long time considering, “We like to challenge the norm. Working in an agency is a really high pressured environment; with every deadline comes another deadline and that is what agency staff thrive on, so it’s a good thing. But it does mean the team don’t always get the right balance of between work and play. We wanted to switch things up...” - Becky, CEO.
“We really need to think about why we currently work 5 days a week and I would encourage all UK businesses to challenge the status quo. Why do we work so much more than we play? Working a 4 day week is not a new concept, countries like the Netherlands have been doing this for years and their economy is thriving. Other Scandinavian countries also promote a non-traditional working week with lower hours aimed at improving productivity and more positive work/life balance. ” - Paul, COO.
So far the team are loving the move to a four day week, with the team feeling upbeat and positive about the change, and the team upbeat, it seems that Becky and Paul may have found the right recipe to that elusive work/life balance.
Here’s how some of the Reflect Digital team have been spending their extra day:
"I spent my extra day visiting my sister in Copenhagen, exploring the City and drinking too much coffee" - Katie, Account Executive.
"Last week I spent my extra day playing golf (or more accurately, hitting golf balls out of bunkers!)" - Paul, COO.
"I spent my extra day with my family. We started with some shopping, went to the park, and then I got a parking penalty!" - Tiberiu, Front End Developer.
"I spent my extra day running, attending a yoga class, seeing my little nephew, and doing wed-min!", Jo, PR and Media Manager.
"I spent my extra day with my family. My Mum, Dad, Wife, baby girl and I went for a lovely (if a little fresh) walk around a country park, then finished it off with a pub lunch. It's only week #1, but already I'm loving the #4dayworkweek" - Mike, Head of Development.
So, the question is: If you had a four day work week, how would you spend your extra day?
Stay tuned as Becky and Paul will be doing an update on how they think the #4dayworkweek has gone so far, and talking all about the positives and negatives they’ve encountered so far...
