Category Archives: 4 Day Week

4 Day Week, Marketing, News, PR and SEO

BE YELLOW : The New PR Agency That Puts Social Values First with 4 Day Week and Remote Working Job Opportunity

Today marks the official launch of BE YELLOW, a PR & Marketing agency that brings together the power of social values and innovative strategies to drive success for their clients, as well as promoting fulfilling and flexible working for employees.

Hayley Knight, BE YELLOW co-founder and previous owner of ‘Boxed Out PR’ said:

“After several successful years running Boxed Out PR, I have reached a pivotal moment where my approach to work and life has evolved. I felt we could be doing more to not only promote the values which we hold dear, but also to use our skills and experience to help companies with strong values achieve their goals. This is why we created BE YELLOW.”

As well as establishing themselves as a remote-only business, therefore giving employees the freedom and flexibility to work from wherever they wish, BE YELLOW also promotes a ‘4 day work week’ initiative, where full time employees are given one day a week to focus on professional and personal development.

BE YELLOW believes that this progressive concept will not only create a company culture of curiosity and growth, but it will also boost productivity, creativity, and innovation across both client’s campaigns and the organisation itself, creating a happier and more engaged work environment for all involved.

Co-founder and Marketing Director, Marcus Knight comments: “In recent years there have been far too many people suffering from burnout and poor mental health as a result of increasingly demanding work obligations and ‘the grind and hustle’ culture. We want to show that there are other ways to succeed, and that work can indeed be healthy and fulfilling.”

BE YELLOW forecasts a bright future and is offering an exciting opportunity for someone to join them on this amazing journey, as a remote PR Account Manager. The candidate should embody the company’s values, excel in a remote work environment, and possess strong project management, communication, and interpersonal skills. Applicants should have a PR background, understanding of the digital landscape, experience in cultivating media relationships, and be comfortable with AI tools. For the full job description please click here.

“We have a strong vision for the future!” continues Hayley. “There is increased sentiment for businesses that place social and environmental policies at the forefront of their operations. We’re looking for people who share our vision, and we hope our work will encourage other companies to invest in employee welfare and socially-led initiatives”

LAUNCH VIDEO

Founders Marcus and Hayley are passionate about providing value and sharing information to help educate. To that end, they have launched BE YELLOW with a short video titled ‘Unlock Your PR Potential: 5 Essential Tips for Success’.

Watch the video here

The video will also be accompanied by a follow up detailed webinar and Q&A in a few weeks. Details of the webinar will be sent out via our mailing list at a later date.

Subscribe here

4 Day Week, Midlands News, News, Northamptonshire

HR specialists say four-day working week trial could bring great opportunity

A Kettering-based HR consultancy has outlined the benefits of the world’s largest trial of a four-day working week.

More than 70 organisations worldwide signed up to the six-month pilot scheme in June, which involves more than 3,000 UK employees.

Although HR Solutions are not taking part in the trial themselves, CEO Greg Guilford is aware of the potential benefits from the experiment.

He said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has already changed many aspects of our working lives, with many people switching to working from home or hybrid working. It is a logical time to test out different working practices and see how a new approach could help with employee wellbeing and productivity.”

Employees participating in the trial receive their full salary but only work 80% of their standard hours. In exchange, workers must commit to maintaining 100% productivity.

Firms taking part include office-based software developers, housing, food and beverages, workplace consultancy, skincare, housing, and recruitment firms.

Greg added: “Workers must use their time more wisely, concentrating on being as effective as possible in a smaller time frame to achieve the same level of performance. The additional rest day is anticipated to improve staff wellbeing, create a greater sense of achievement in completing work more efficiently and make workers feel motivated to work harder.

“I believe that happy and motivated people are a core part of a successful business. And while there is great potential in this kind of scheme, a contented workforce may also be achieved through good internal communication, relevant staff reward schemes, job flexibility, equality and fair opportunity.”

For more information on The 4 Day Week Global Campaign, which is coordinated by researchers from Oxford and Cambridge universities, experts from Boston College and the Autonomy think tank, or you would like to enquire about how HR Solutions can help your business, visit https://www.hrsolutions-uk.com/4-day-working-week-trial-launched/

4 Day Week, Mental Health at Work, News

MRL Consulting Group Reports 95% staff retention, 84% employee mental health Improvement since piloting the four-day working week

After closing its offices every Friday in May 2019, UK recruitment firm, MRL Consulting Group, saw an incredible 95% staff retention rate, productivity levels increased by one-quarter (25%) and improvements in employees’ health. 

87% of employees reported improvement in their mental health and reduction in workplace stress, and a further 95% said that they feel more rested after having a three-day weekend. Short-term absence has also reduced by almost 40%.

The six-month trial for all employees has now been implemented as a permanent fixture within the company due to the huge success, and they want other businesses to follow their lead.

 

David Stone, chief executive officer at MRL, said “We are driven by results, rather than the amount of time people spend at their desks. I trusted my staff to have enough self motivation and discipline to be able to manage their time in order to fit five days of work into four. The results generated during the six-month trial have led us to implement a four-day week working model on a permanent basis.” 

 

Kelly Robertson, operations director at MRL, added “During the trial, and since implementing the four day working week, everyone has really ramped up their activity, and people feel a lot more prepared for the week ahead after having three days to rest at the weekend.  Now, the team has more time to spend on themselves, on their mental and physical health and with their families and you can really see the difference in the mood in the office.  

“I can’t think of any reason why other businesses wouldn’t want to invest in its employees’ wellbeing, as there are so many positive outcomes. If you’re an output-based organisation and you are realistic about what you want your team to achieve in the given timeframe, there’s no reason you can’t have a four-day week.”

 

4 Day Week, News

Software Development Firm Joins the 4-Day Working Week Revolution

Established software development company, Green Gorilla Apps, has today announced its plans to trial a 4-day week for all employees, as it continues to implement new ways to create a truly flexible working environment.

The firm, who are industry experts in the development of online and mobile platforms, have confirmed that salaries and contracted hours will remain the same, but this restructuring of the working week will allow employees a greater degree of control over their schedules.

Green Gorilla Apps have long been proponents of flexible and remote working, having initially trialled a flexible model in 2014 to continue attracting the very best talent to the business. They made the switch to a fully remote model in 2015, further increasing the potential talent pool.

The news comes ahead of a nationwide pilot scheme in June, where over 60 UK companies will take part in a 6-month trial of a 4-day week, coordinated with 4-day week global and researchers at Cambridge and Oxford university.

The announcement has received an overwhelmingly positive response from existing employees, noting that the switch to a 4-day week has afforded them an even greater degree of freedom with their work, while new employees cite the company’s culture of balance as a key reason for joining the firm.

Paul Rhodes, Technical Director of Green Gorilla Apps, explained: “The switch to a 4-day working week seemed like a natural one for us to make. Since our inception, we’ve prided ourselves on creating an environment that truly promotes flexibility.

“At Green Gorilla Apps, our focus is on maintaining our high standards of work, not micro-managing when our staff choose to carry out their contracted hours.

“We have successfully created a culture where everyone knows what it expected of them. By openly communicating expectations to employees and clients alike, we are already beginning to reap the benefits of our transition to a 4-day week with increased productivity, performance and staff morale.

“The working landscape has dramatically evolved, and I believe it is up to businesses to adapt to the changing expectations of workers so they can continue to attract and retain the very best.”

Earlier this year, the company launched its tech-for-good platform, WellGiving, designed to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of remote and hybrid employees through fundraising fitness challenges.

The platform has already recorded a staggering 3.5 million minutes of exercise across 1900 participating athletes, with £77,000 raised for 27 charities while still in its beta phase, WellGiving is well on its way to achieving its ambitious plans for 2022 and raising £1 million for charities across the UK, while Green Gorilla Apps continue to make a positive impact on employee wellbeing in their own business and beyond.

4 Day Week, HR News, News

It’s a 4-day week for the Tribe at Tyler Grange

The UK-based environmental consultancy has become the first in their industry to sign up for June’s 4-day week UK pilot trial

UK-based landscape planning, ecology and arboriculture consultancy, Tyler Grange has become the first in their industry to sign up to the 4-day week pilot programme – beginning in June. More than 3,000 workers at 60 companies across the UK are taking part in the trial.

In association with 4-Day Week Global, UK think tank Autonomy and researchers at Cambridge University, Boston College and Oxford University, the pilot programme will initially run for six months and will see reduced hours but no loss of income for Tyler Grange’s employees.

Simon Ursell, Managing Director at Tyler Grange said: “Our discussions around this initiative began four years ago. Like many people in our industry – including our competitors and clients – we were pretty tired. Talks within the team were framed around how busy we were, and how much we needed to do, and a lack of time for actually living.”

“We know that mental health issues are rife in consultancy. It’s an industry which has too often been plagued by growing demands, diminishing timescales and increasing complexity. Mental and physical burnout is a real problem, and it can’t be glossed over anymore. It’s time to make a change.”

“The pilot programme made it clear that the time to act is now. We know the employee wellbeing benefits and we know that productivity can increase by up to 15%. We’ve been working incredibly hard on making this a reality for the last four years. So, what are we waiting for?”

For Tyler Grange, the time has come to lead from the front. And to help create a healthier future for their team (referred to as their Tribe), their clients and collaborators, and the environment.

“Ever since we started the business in 2010, it’s the Tyler Grange Tribe that makes us great”, continued Simon. “In the past, we had a few members of the team part ways with us, citing that they couldn’t keep the pace up and needed to change how they worked. We realised that being constantly ‘on’ wasn’t sustainable and it isn’t what we wanted for our business.”

“We want to do everything in our power to keep our Tribe healthy and happy; so that they can keep on living life to the fullest, find joy in their work and continue to provide our clients with phenomenal support.”

“Having an extra non-working day every week gives our team precious free time which they can use exactly as they see fit. We’re also excited by the benefits a 4-day working week may bring for the business and our clients. We expect to see reduced absences, and fundamentally, an increase in productivity. It also coincides with our journey towards becoming a B-Corp, for which we are hoping to achieve accreditation later in 2022.”

From June, each of Tyler Grange’s six UK offices will be closed on Fridays. Every member of the 80-strong team will have the opportunity to rest and recuperate after a busy week, take on any community or voluntary work, or further their training.

Trix Williams, Office Manager at Tyler Grange commented: “The 4-day week is one of the best things TG could have ever done. It’s going to make productivity higher and people happier. And it’s going to give everyone at TG time to do things they love. That’s what our company’s about, so I’m really happy about it.”

“The extra time will benefit me because I can put time into things that I really want to do on the weekend but that the time doesn’t allow. Things like yoga classes in the morning and extra cooking classes. We’ve actually been having a look at doing a sushi course. Now we have the flexibility to put time into things on a Friday when the weekend is always so hectic.”

So, will Tyler Grange become the first of many in their industry? Or will others view it simply as a flash-in-the-pan fad?

Simon commented: “Our industry is quite traditional, but we’ve already seen positive change from some of our other initiatives. Our team has a day off a month already to volunteer, do charity work or for personal development. Slowly we’ve seen other businesses in our industry do the same. Yes we may get some backlash from the old guard onthis 4-day initiative, but we’re hoping it will be a snowball effect. We think others could and will follow. We’ll also be sharing our progress and learnings every week in the hope that others will be inspired to find a similar solution that works for them.”

Joe Ryle, 4 Day Week Campaign Director, said: “The four-day week with no loss of pay is a win-win scenario for both workers and employers.

“Companies across the UK are beginning to embrace this model as a way of retaining staff and attracting new talent after the pandemic.

“The pilot programme will gather all the data and evidence to prove it works – from a productivity perspective but also from an employee wellbeing perspective.

“We want the businesses taking part in the pilot to share all their learnings – good and bad – to help build a picture of the future viability of this initiative. And to show how it could become a reality for the working lives of the majority of people in the UK.”

Tyler Grange sees this as an opportunity to learn about truly being efficient. By doing the trial there’s a commitment to finding out what works, what doesn’t and what should become a mainstay in the working lives of their Tribe.

  • Office opening hours are being increased Monday to Thursday (8:30 – 18:00) but not hours worked. The extra office hours will be used to help transition the team to a four-day week, making it a smooth process for employees and clients.
  • The business has already created an app that all employees use daily to monitor alertness and fatigue. This will be used to monitor employee wellbeing and happiness during the trial.
  • Productivity, efficiency and hours worked will continually be monitored throughout the trial by Tyler Grange, alongside 4-Day Week Global
  • The trial is part of the company’s commitment to B Corp certification, which is expected to be secured this year – a four-day working week by 2025 could reduce the UK’s annual carbon footprint by 127million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.