At the start of July, we took the plunge to move to a four-day work week and so far, so good! In this month’s blog, we’re checking in with the Punch Bunch to see how the people behind the company are finding settling into their new lifestyle in these crucial first few weeks.
Increased productivity
Our new routine certainly has its productivity benefits. We can learn from one of the most famous four-day week experiments, which was undertaken in 2019 with Microsoft’s Japan employees. They saw their productivity increase by 40%!
Naturally, we did have some initial worries about condensing our weekly workload into four days, but compressed time is also a huge motivation to get stuff done.
Our Junior Marketing Executive, Bryony, commented, “I felt a little uneasy at first, which is to be expected when you have to squeeze five days of work into four, but working under pressure really got me motivated. I feel more confident in being creative at the drop of a hat, and I have a three-day weekend to pull me through the week rather than slugging through five days. I never want to go back to a five-day week! You can’t make me!”
Better work-life balance
One of the biggest struggles we found within the agency was that for those with children, working a five-day week meant a lack of quality family time.
Our Studio Manager, Helen says, “I’ve been carrying a huge bag of mum guilt whilst working from home. I’m sure teaching the boys independence and technology has been beneficial. But, that extra day gives us one-on-one time to craft, play football, go for walks and watch movies.”
Julie, our Senior Graphics Designer, adds, “I’ve been using my extra day to entertain my very active toddler. Last Friday we fed the ducks, climbed trees, and went on a bear hunt.”
We love that we can spend more quality time with our families, especially as we come to terms with “the new normal”. Results of a four-day week trial by Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand financial services company, found that 78% of employees felt their work-life balance had improved. We’re really glad that Helen and Julie feel the same way!
It works for our clients
Lindsey Lindsay, Marketing Director of PerfectHome, commented, “We’ve been a client of Punch’s for over a year now and I think this bold move to change to a four day working week reinforces my views they have a great culture. The new move hasn’t meant less time on our account but it does mean more creativity, which is what we want in an agency. It’s great to see our partners thinking about ways they can adapt given the current situation. It’s something I hugely support.”
Thursday is our new Friday!
Everyone loves the weekend, so we thought we’d prolong ours. Of course, this is a huge positive of our new working week, but it has taken some adjusting to.
Our Graphic Designer, Andy, said, “I’m a big fan of the four-day week! The only downside is I no longer have an excuse for putting off housework, and my brain still thinks it’s Sunday on a Saturday. But, I generally feel so much fresher.”
What’s better than a lazy Saturday, than a lazy Saturday and Sunday?! We’re loving this less stressful lifestyle and our wellbeing has certainly improved… even if we do need to find another excuse not to vacuum the house!
We’re so glad that the Punch Bunch are settling into the new routine, and we hope that as time goes on, our shorter week becomes increasingly productive, motivating and continues to supply a great work-life balance.
Check out our Instagram for updates on how we’ve been spending our out-of-office Fridays. From picnics in the Lake District to recreating our favourite pizza restaurants, our weekends have been well spent!
Microsoft News – https://news.microsoft.com/ja-jp/2019/10/31/191031-published-the-results-of-measuring-the-effectiveness-of-our-work-life-choice-challenge-summer-2019/
Perpetual Guardian Study: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/feb/19/four-day-week-trial-study-finds-lower-stress-but-no-cut-in-output