Introduction
At a time when discussions about reducing the work week are on the rise, I wanted to share our experience with a 9-day fortnight trial we conducted across our business.
We started the trial in August 2021. The concept - a free day off for everyone in the business (not consolidated hours) every two weeks. The trial was to run until the end of December.
Why We Trialled The Concept
- It had been a full-on couple of years. Covid meant holidays were restricted to being at home, no one got any proper downtime, and when at work, it was extremely busy, and all these factors were taking a toll.
- We wanted to introduce something that would make a genuine, tangible difference as a thank you and allow people to recoup some of the time we all lost to work and covid.
- We were interested in understanding its impact, good or bad.
The Rules For The Trial
- A three-month trial and then a break at the end to review.
- The free day off would be a Friday, no other day.
- No impact on annual leave.
- The team was divided into two, covering as many skills each Friday as possible.
- People could not swap with others.
- Senior staff had to be available on the phone for the trial period.
- If it went terribly, we could stop it.
What Didn't Work
- The senior team often worked Fridays anyway, even if it was offline. This, in turn, meant some people felt awkward taking the time off they were supposed to.
- Some people worked extra hours in the week, even though we didn’t want them to.
- People ended up having to cover meetings that were not within their normal skillset, which early on, led to some communication issues within the team.
- We made some mistakes in availability planning, which meant we missed some internal targets early on.
What Went Well
- Overall, output didn't suffer.
- There was no impact on client delivery/service levels.
- People throughout the business loved it.
- As a by-product, we quickly closed the communication gaps, and people ended up being more empowered and aware of the bigger picture.
- There was a genuine sense that people were less stressed, had more time to enjoy life outside of work, and could focus more easily when at work.
Did We Continue The Concept?
100%. It’s now fully embedded as a part of our benefits package. We’ve been doing it for a year and a half now, and it’s made a discernible difference for us individually and for our business.
Key outcomes:
- Everyone loves it. It’s made a genuine difference in how people look at the working week.
- We can now evidence our output over an extended period being as good, and in some cases better, than when we operated a normal 5-day week.
- It’s a great recruitment and retention tool.
- It’s improved our planning processes and communication across the business.
- We’d never go back.
Would We Move To A Four Day Week?
It's not currently in our plans. With our existing arrangement, we are able to give the time off for free – without people working extra hours to make the time up. Moving to a four-day working week wouldn’t be possible without asking people to make up some of that time.
Based on some trials and research, working an extra hour or two to make up the time for another day off doesn’t really work when looking at the type of work we do. Seven hours a day is already a big drain mentally. Adding a couple of hours to that working day significantly diminishes the quality and output of the work completed in that time. So for us, it’s a no right now.
Would We Recommend The 9-Day Fortnight?
Absolutely. The benefits far outweigh other considerations for us. Although our business is relatively well suited to this type of initiative, based on the success we've seen and its impact on the team, we recommend at least giving it some thought. If you want to ask any questions about our experience with trialling and running a 9-day fortnight, give us a shout.
