Whitenoise and the Four Day Work Week

Like many local businesses, we emerged from the COVID pandemic having learnt new ways of working, increasing our effectiveness both internally and in our service offering to clients. This together with some substantial new client acquisitions (one of which became our largest client overnight, triggering us to take on five new staff), taught us a lot about effective time management and the need for a closer focus on work-life balance and mental health.

Having become aware of growing international interest in the concept of the Four Day Work Week, the concept piqued the interest of the company directors, who believed it could be a working pattern suited to Whitenoise, our client mix and staff members. With the understanding that we needed to offer an uninterrupted continuity of service across the normal working week, we divided our workforce into two equally balanced teams, with a Monday-Thursday and Tuesday-Friday work split. 

Completely separate to the formal, UK-wide trial, we independently trialled this four day week pattern throughout the entirety of 2022, allowing us to track how our teams coped and clients responded throughout the seasonal ebb and flow of workloads coming in to the studio. Across our self-set yardsticks of staff wellbeing, client satisfaction, studio productivity and business profitability, it was a great success, so we announced to staff and clients that as of January 2023 this is our ’new normal'. 

As a committed Four Day Week business, we’re proud to say all current and future staff benefit financially and in terms of work-life balance from our change to a four day working week. With a 20% reduction in working hours with no accompanying drop in salary, 
we are already seeing the benefits of this in terms of staff satisfaction and retention, as well as recruitment in an increasingly competitive hiring environment.

Company background
Whitenoise Design Ltd is a family-owned, multi-award winning agency committed to transforming brands and businesses through compelling visual experiences spanning all platforms and channels. Since our founding in the summer of 2000, we have epitomised resilience and innovation, with a strategy-led approach that brings brands to life.

Built on collaboration and an integrated approach, our structure is unique, with all our services under one roof, delivering tangible synergies and cost benefits to our clients. Our creative teams offer brand strategy, creation and narrative, digital and print advertising, web design and UX, video, animation and motion graphics, digital marketing and paid advertising, digital strategy and content creation services.

With 23 years in business, 23 (currently) highly experienced, award-winning staff across all our teams and an intention to grow significantly in 2023, Whitenoise is a respected agency in the Irish Design Industry and a proud member of the Institute of Design in Ireland, with a total of  28 IDI awards on our trophy shelf. Our local, national and global clients span the public and private sectors, from business to broadcast and government to NGOs and charities.

Links
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63808326
https://www.4dayweek.co.uk/pilot-programme