Why do we work a 4.5 day week?
5
Min Read
In this blog:
- How has our 4.5 day week worked for us?
- What are our opinions on flexible working?
- Why is our work culture important to us?
Now that the CiteAb team is beginning to return to the office following the latest government guidance, it has given us an opportunity to reflect again on our workplace culture. This really is more important than ever given the disruption to ways of working over the past two years.
At CiteAb, we work a 4.5 day week, adopt a flexible home/office working approach, have regular team days out and an unmetered holiday policy.
The aim of these policies is to foster a culture of open communication and care. We have found that our culture suits us: motivating us all to take responsibility and drive the companies’ success. Last year (despite the working from home restrictions) we had our most successful year yet!
–
An extensive trial on the four day working week in Iceland recently concluded with great success. This trial found that productivity remained consistent, but employee well-being improved. More and more trials are popping up, as interest is generated in the benefits of a shorter working week. Recently, for example, a UK trial was launched which will run for 6 months and include 30 companies. This naturally led to us thinking more about our 4.5 day work week policy.
As a company, we have worked 4.5 days since we first started out in 2014. We adopted the practice from our partner company Storm who found it worked for them. They settled on 4.5 days and not 4 so they were still contactable every day for clients – just only in the morning on a Friday!
How has this approach suited us?
At CiteAb, we have also found that this approach of 4.5 days has worked for us. It has not hampered our progress; if anything, it drives the team to work harder on a Friday morning. Further benefits we have experienced include an improved work life balance. We have found this, in turn, reduces the risk of burnout, already on the rise and more prevalent post-pandemic.
What do you think?
Overall, the disruption of the pandemic to standard office working has encouraged companies to evaluate their culture. For us, this boils down to maintaining the wellbeing and productivity of the team, leading to a successful and happy workplace.
A 4.5 day week strikes the right balance for us. This does not mean to say four days (or five) are not right for others. We would love to know the opinions on a shorter working week from others in the life science sector?
- Skye and the CiteAb team
References
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57724779
