Newcastle upon Tyne, UK-based digital marketing agency Venture Stream has announced that it plans to launch a four-day working week for its team of 26 workers beginning 6 September (Monday).
According to the agency, whose client portfolio includes Yogamatters, Barbour and Standout, there will be no loss of pay or benefits as its marketers, business leaders, designers, developers and technical expert staff move to a 32 hour week from 40 hours.
This will initially be trialled for three months and then the business will consider making the change permanent from January 2022, if there is evidence that employee wellbeing and efficiency is benefitting from it.
This change was prompted by the agency successfully introducing remote working and flexible hours for employees throughout the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns. These implementations resulted in a better work-life balance for staff and increased overall productivity and client results.
Venture Stream will continue to be open five days a week to ensure clients continue to receive the same level of support. In order to carry this out, staff from every team will be working on any given day between Monday and Friday.
Vic Morgan, chief executive officer at Venture Stream, explained that the senior leadership team takes mental health “very seriously” at Venture Stream and has listened to members of staff, believing a four-day work week offers them a better work-life balance.
“The pandemic has shown us that a more flexible approach to working leads to a more content and productive team, and we’ve already introduced flexible hours and the option to work remotely, so a shorter working week seems like a natural next step in a people-first approach to delivering outstanding service,” he said.
