Hosted by the non-profit 4 Day Week Global, London-based think tank Autonomy and researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Boston College, the six-month exam explored key concerns including: Analyze how your employees react to the short week. stress, burnout, mental health.

Many companies in the advertising and marketing industry have already implemented a four-day work week, with some reporting increased productivity and lower turnover. So how are the institutions involved in the current experiment working?

When asked why Nottingham-based media agency Adzooma chose to participate in the trial, HR manager Jennifer Lecomber-Peace told The Drum:

“We have done a lot of research into the four-day work week and how it has benefited other companies and their employees. and wanted it to add value to their lives outside of work. A four-day work week seemed like a great solution for dealing with both of these things.”

Content and digital marketing agency Literal Humans is also on board. Co-founder and CEO Paul David Perry says he has seen some gains in the 12 weeks since joining. and less work.”

Claire Daniels, CEO of Trio Media, a Leeds-based digital marketing agency, told The Drum: In her second month of trials, which was her best month ever, she performed 44% better than her second highest month, even with 20% fewer employees. Productivity, performance and health are at an all-time high. “

However, there were some bumps along the way. Lecomber-Peace said most of Adzooma’s team work Monday through Thursday. “But some team members have to work Tuesday through Friday. , and can be addressed by better planning what skill sets need to be put into the business and when.”

Perry, meanwhile, said his biggest challenge since the trial began was helping his team “optimize” their time. “In other words, how do you support people to stay and even increase their productivity in fewer days on the same workload?”

Daniels says Trio Media struggles with not knowing what’s on the other side of the case. “During recruitment, it is difficult to set realistic expectations as to whether the trial will continue. It was difficult to manage the truth about how we were progressing.

But the feedback from staff is (perhaps unsurprisingly) positive. “The whole team loves it,” Daniels continues. “Some were cautious at first, but everyone really embraced it and their health improved as a result. I noticed a difference that most people seemed more relaxed. ”

Perry also claims the trial has been “very good so far.” , we are looking for more support.”

When asked if the reduced working hours were likely to be implemented permanently, Lecomber-Peace said it was too early to tell, but so far “there are all positive indicators.” said.

Daniels, on the other hand, said: Ultimately, I think he needs more time to make a decision, so he will extend the trial for 12 months before deciding whether to make it permanent. “

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