As the business community debates the merits of this four-day work week, the team at Assemblo have discovered many benefits to this modern way of working.
Assemblo has offered four-day working arrangements to its employees since 2016, with little impact to its bottom line.
Companies big and small have been experimenting with the four-day week concept, with Microsoft recently announcing a 40 per cent boost to productivity in a short trial at its Japanese subsidiary.
The four-day work week has become a popular option for employees, with a 2018 global survey of nearly 3,000 people finding almost half of the respondents saying they could do their job in five hours or less per day.
“We introduced the four-day work week in 2016 and it’s surprising how little it has actually affected things,” said Steve de Niese, founder and creative director at Assemblo.
“Our business has experienced its biggest rate of growth since then. Shifting to a four-day work week hasn’t been our only structural change, but it hasn’t slowed us down either.
“On the productivity side, a four-day schedule has driven our team to be more efficient with their time in the office, such as keeping meetings to a minimum.
“It has also countered the slump in productivity that we used to get in the later parts of the week, so the team is consistently productive throughout the week.”
Mr de Niese said this flexible arrangement has been important for workplace culture and had helped attract the right kinds of employees to the team.
Assemblo has a team of eight permanent employees and also hires a range of freelancers depending on the volume of work.
“On their day off, staff are able to work on side projects, engage in hobbies, and get on top of their life admin,” Mr de Niese said.
Mr de Niese added that the working arrangement was flexible and allowed staff members to work an optional five-day week during peak periods, with the additional day paid on an overtime basis.
“A four-day work week definitely requires the right kind of people to make it successful,” Mr de Niese added.
“Our observation is that it is best suited to driven, self-motivated staff members, which fits our workplace culture.”
About Assemblo
Assemblo is a full-service marketing agency based in Melbourne, offering a range of skills and services to run effective digital and traditional marketing campaigns for clients.
We offer clients access to a team of dedicated, highly skilled marketing professionals including strategists, account managers, designers, software developers, journalists and copywriters, social media producers, photographers, SEO specialists and more.
If you want to learn more, give us a call on (03) 9079 2555 or drop us a note via the contact form below.