It was around 18-months ago when we started to think slightly differently about our working week at Fluid. We began to trial a 3pm finish every Friday, and it worked really well.
Our clients barely noticed the change. Our productivity and creativity never dropped. And those extra couple of hours at the start of the weekend made more difference than we could have ever imagined. It quickly became something we all really valued, and we quickly saw it made a difference to our energy at work and our balance at home.
So we’ve decided to take things a step further, and will begin trialling a 4.5 day working week from 14 February, with a 1.30pm finish every Friday.
We know we’re fortunate at Fluid. Our culture. Our team. Our independence. Our partnerships. Those things all give us the confidence to try new things that could make our agency stronger.
One of those things is questioning conventions like the standard working week. And actually being open to exploring any question that could help us to build the strongest imaginable agency - for our team and our clients.
Of course, we can all relate to the juggling act of life, work, health and purpose. And we should all happily confess to our own motivations.
Me personally? With an over-active three year-old, a rapidly-expanding five-month old and an under-appreciated labrador, I’ll be looking forward to spending a bit more time with the family, whilst also having a bit more flexibility to endure the torment of my love-hate relationship with golf.
I know all the team will already be imagining their own plans for Friday afternoons too. Whether it’s Anneliese somehow cramming in even more city breaks, Dani finding another mountain top somewhere, or Col encouraging the wine bar to consider an extra-early opening.
Whatever we all choose, I’m looking forward to the trial. We’re ready to end it at any time if we need to, but I hope it works and I hope it lasts. For everyone.