IT solutions provider Highgate IT Solutions has announced that it will trial a four-day working week for one business quarter from 1 April.
The business, which currently employees 16 workers, will adopt the 100:80:100 model, which means it will commit to pay 100% of employees’ salaries for 80% of the usual working time, in return for 100% productivity.
According to Highgate, the trial has been designed with customer service in mind as well, and employees' days off will be staggered across the teams. This will result in it remaining operational five days a week.
Highgate sales director Bob Sahota said that the last two years have been challenging in many ways, emphasising the importance of the two key areas of employee wellbeing and the value of time.
He explained that there are plenty of potential commercial benefits of moving to four-day week including increased revenue, increased productivity, lower staff turnover and attracting new talent, but none of these were the motivator for the trial.
“For me, Highgate is more than a business or brand. It is our ever-evolving vision of what a harmonious work-life balance should look like, one without stress, pressure or anxiety, enabling people to become the best version of themselves, inside and outside of work. By moving to a four-day week, we are giving everyone back the most valuable thing in life, time.
“When you build a business focused purely on increasing turnover and profit by any means necessary, you can lose sight of what is really important, and for us the journey is more important than the destination. Employee wellbeing and their mental health is the keystone of our business and I strongly believe that a four-day week that consists of 28 hours will improve all of our lives,” Sahota said.
