SUCCESS STORIES

We’ve worked with lots of different employers across Sussex and beyond to support their transition to the four-day work week. Here are some of their stories:

heatmat

Who are they? Underfloor heating specialists

What did we learn? There were a large number of wellbeing benefits, from less burnout, to improved mental health, and higher life satisfaction. At work, enthusiasm and motivation increased. 6 months later, these benefits had all been maintained (with motivation going up even further!).

https://www.heatmat.co.uk/

Social for good

Who are they? The social media agency for charities, not-for-profits and purpose-driven brands

What did we learn? Many dimensions of workplace experience, such as job satisfaction, were already high before the trial, but there were additional wellbeing gains, such as in better sleep and more exercise.

https://www.socialforgood.co.uk/

WATCH THIS SP_CE

Who are they? A diversity and inclusion consultancy delivering workshops, training and talent programmes

What did we learn? Improvements to wellbeing and workplace experience kept getting better even after the original trial, with further enhancements to life satisfaction and productivity 6 months on.

https://www.watchthisspace.uk/

ARCHANGELS ARCHITECTS

Who are they? Award winning residential architects specialising in contemporary design and sustainability

What did we learn? The 4 day week delivered both wellbeing and productivity benefits, with staff feeling less burnt out, and at the same time boosting their attainment of work goals by 10%.

https://www.aaarchitects.co.uk/

BRILLIANT NOISE

Who are they? Digital marketing specialists with a focus on new technology and practices for global brands

What did we learn? The 4 day week trial created a unique opportunity for management to review the company’s working practices and start conversations about efficiency, flexibility and productivity.

https://brilliantnoise.com/

SUCCESS LOCAL

Who are they? Online marketing agency delivering social campaigns and web design services

What did we learn? Staff found it easier to ‘switch off’ from work after hours. Efficiency gains were made at work, with less time taken up by meetings.

https://successlocal.co.uk

“As our business is about exploring new ideas in the world of work, we were intrigued and wanted to try out the 4 day week so we could recommend it to clients. Charlotte’s insights were helpful, particularly the reassurance that it would take a while to settle into it. As founders, we find it difficult to step away from the business – we had to keep boundaries and not feel guilty about it, and we have definitely been more productive on the other four days as a result.”

- Mo Kanjilal,
Watch This Sp_ce

“We wanted to test out something we were unsure about implementing, and the monitoring of each team member gave us the evidence we needed to make an informed decision. The benefits are obvious in terms of mental health and wellbeing. There’s been a bigger sense of happiness in our work environment and no more ‘Sunday night feeling’.”

- Richard Zinzan,
Archangels Architects

“The University gives credibility to organisations trialing this; if any of our clients were sceptical, that ended when we told them about the trial. It's been a very positive experience - we’ve continued to perform well financially and with happy clients. Team members have committed to more exercise and creative pursuits, and no-one has complained of feeling stressed or run down.”

- Kerry Watkins,
Social For Good

“We value experimentation, and the fact we were working with the University meant that this was being monitored properly. The benefits have been flexibility, trust in one another, and serious conversations about realism at work – but the strongest result has been the increased positivity of staff and belief in the company’s values. Having data about ourselves helped change our frame of reference from ‘why do it?’ to ‘why not?’, it just flipped the argument on its head. It’s testament to how well it has gone that no one can imagine going back!”

- Anthony Mayfield,
Brilliant Noise

“Our brand is about innovation, embracing new ideas and practices. The 4 day week is one of the biggest shifts happening in the world of work right now, and we want to be able to speak with authority to our members about how they can make it work. The only way we can do that is by experimenting with it ourselves.”

– Nigel Lambe,
Sussex Innovation

The Results

The aggregated results below show several of the impacts of the 4 day week across all the employers we’ve worked with.

Negative emotions

67 participants rated the extent to which they felt a series of negative emotions. Between starting and finishing a 12-week trial of the 4 day week, negative emotions fell by an average of 11% (and ultimately by 14% after 6 months).

Burnout

67 participants rated the extent to which they felt burnt out from work. Between starting and finishing a 12-week trial of the 4 day week, burnout symptoms fell by an average of 18% (and ultimately by 25% after 6 months).

Sleep problems

67 participants rated the quality of their sleep each week on a 4-point scale from 0 (very good) to 3 (very bad). Between starting and finishing a 12-week trial of the 4 day week, participants experienced 10% fewer sleep problems.

These are just some of the measures that we take to assess wellbeing and workplace performance in the Sussex 4 Day Week project. We include these, and more, in each employer's custom report. We look forward to sharing more results as the data continues to come in!

DR CHARLOTTE RAE, PROJECT LEAD