What is a nine-day working fortnight?

This week is happiness at work week and we thought what better opportunity to talk you through our nine-day working fortnight benefit our employees are currently trialling. 

So first of all, what is a nine-day working fortnight?

It is a working pattern that consists of compressed hours allowing employees to have every other Friday off. 

Yes, you read that correctly, every other Friday to do whatever they want! 

Over the course of those nine days, our team members extend their daily work hours, typically adding anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour each day. This approach allows them to accumulate extra hours and enjoy alternate Fridays as time off.

Before we look at how we implemented it within our workforce lets look at the benefits of implementing this new work pattern. 

What are the benefits of working a nine-day working fortnight?

After many months of researching the benefits and downfalls of moving to a nine-day working fortnight. We found that the benefits outweighed the downfalls. 

So what did our research show us?

???? Increased productivity: We found when researching into this that the majority of companies found that their overall productivity levels had risen. 

???? Better mental health and wellness: We found that implementing this new working pattern will greatly improve our employee’s mental health and wellness. 

This extra day off allows people to have an additional day to travel, do the shopping or spend time with loved ones. Or be a couch potato, whatever you fancy ???? 

???? Increased employee retention: We found that companies who offer this alternative working pattern are more likely to attract and retain top talent. 

???? Reduced carbon footprint: As well as all the above benefits we also found in our research that moving to a nine-day working fortnight also reduces the company’s carbon footprint. 

By reducing the number of days that employees are required to travel to and from work, companies can reduce their carbon footprint.

We implemented it and this is what we found…

So, last month was our first month of trialling this new working model. We shall be giving this new model a go from August to November. Before making a final decision on whether we keep it moving forward. And we must say it was a seamless transition.

Since moving to a nine-day working fortnight we have seen the following benefits amongst the team.

???? The team has bonded more

???? Team morale is higher

♻️ Reduced business costs

???? Increased productivity levels

????????‍???? Creativity has increased

So we can vouch that the benefits are worth it! We even found more benefits from actioning it within our team than what we found in our research.

As we come to the end of our second month trialling this new model we can say it is all still plain sailing.

We shall update you at the end of our trial period (November) with a final update and conclusion.

Have you ever thought about implementing a reduced working week within your business?

If yes;

What’s stopping you?

Charlotte Hale

Also known as ‘Charl’

Digital Marketing Executive

Has been a member of Citizen since March 2023

Loves going to the gym (I know, weird right), travelling, and is partial to the odd glass of wine, specifically Pinot Grigio.

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