Some see the 4-day workweek defining modern work-life balance but its quieter sibling the 9-day fortnight might be a better model for agencies with tight deadlines and needy clients.
The 9-day fortnight is a form of compressed working, where staff work an extra 45 minutes each day to get every second Friday off.
Staff still work full-time hours just over less days resulting in a bonus 26 long weekends per year and no effect to pay.
But why would an extra day off per fortnight be better than per week?
The 9-day fortnight balances the needs of management and staff much more effectively.
Staff typically honour the less frequent day off more, rather than taking it for granted when it’s more frequent like in the 4-day schedule.
Place-based and audience experience media company Motio grappled with the concept of a four-day workweek, before opting for a nine-day fortnight.
Adam Cadwallader, Motio chief executive officer, told AdNews: “When I first suggested the 4-day week, I think the team thought it was an April fool’s joke or that hell had frozen over.
“The concept of a 4-day workweek was shut down pretty early. We couldn’t really see how we were going to do it and remain customer centric at the same time.
“Instead our trial began as a 10-days-in-9 concept because we knew we could implement a really strong framework to make it work.
“The most important scaffolding we agreed on is our ‘buddy system’ - which ensures the team members that were ‘off’ had their clients and customer groups covered.
“There were definitely some challenges in making sure everyone was fitting 10 days of work in 9, but on the whole, I think we all feel like we are achieving more and getting a better headspace.”
Gordon D’Mello, Motio product and marketing manager, said: “A contextual consideration for me was making sure reward was given for effort – we know all about burnout, the importance of mental health and flexible working structures. The 10-days-in-9 program is helping address this, despite of course still being in its infancy.
“Communication has become even more important before, and if you are on your day off – the team knows what to do in your absence. We’re all helping each other out which has been great to see from a management point of view.”
“Like most things, the program is continually evolving so we’re cognizant of improving where we can in the future.”
With such a conceptually new idea in the Australian market, Motio’s management knew there were always going to be growing pains.
So Cadwallader made sure during the trial period to make candid feedback sessions a priority.
Brett Kearney, Motio commercial manager, and Emily Biddulph, Motio account executive, are two great examples of how staff felt and were challenged about transitioning to the 9-day fortnight permanently.
When Brett Kearney was first pitched the idea by the agency’s management he struggled to see how he would achieve his business goals with less time.
However, Kearney has a young family which makes the reduced work schedule really help his home life as his 10th day is dedicated to life admin tasks, saving weekend time for family.
Kearney said: “For me, it took a few weeks to find a consistent rhythm and start prioritising my time effectively.
“Now it feels like I’ve gained a day each week – as when others have their day off, there’s a real sense of focus and less distractions in the office.
“Our team has all bought into the concept, we work smarter as a unit with less and more productive meetings which has helped us work more efficiently.
“There is the odd late night, but the reward of your day off is worth it.”
Similarly, Emily Biddulph was apprehensive about the 9-day fortnight as being in her early 20s and recently moving from NZ, she didn’t want to miss out on Fridays which are typically the most social time in the office.
However, Biddulph quickly proved herself wrong.
Biddulph said: “At first we weren’t sure what to expect. During the trial, I felt like my workload at times was intense and I had to do a lot of different tasks in order to feel like I had earned my extra day off.
“However, by the time we made it official as a full-time initiative at Motio, we were more used to it and managed to get on top of our workload much better. There’s nothing better than feeling like you’ve really earned the day off.
“I find I force myself to go in the zone more frequently and for longer because I know I have less time to achieve the same tasks.
“And on my day off, I am so productive. I get my chores done, I sleep in, go for a walk, catch up with some friends, whatever it may be, I always feel like I come to work the following week more refreshed.
“I would say it feels like a consistent mental health day.”
Although it is important to remember that each business requires different structures and reduced working hours will look different for everyone.
Marilla Akkermans managing director at Equality Media + Marketing told AdNews her agency found more success with the 4-day workweek.
Akkermans: “When setting up our 4DW trial, we discussed a nine-day fortnight but the issue we saw was less opportunity to set-up habits around your efficiencies and less of a drive to improve your output and focus.
“We decided as a group that the best way to test the flexible arrangement was to go straight to the four days, as there is more motivation from all perspectives to make the new way of working stick.”
Also Go Digital agency has rolled out a different version of the 9-day fortnight, as each staff has been offered an opt-in/out choice to the reduced work schedule.
Giving staff a choice actually proves the favorability of the reduced workweek, as at least 95% of the agency's full-time staff have adopted the schedule.
John Yanny, general manager and co-founder at GO Digital, told AdNews: “We are quite a small business still in the grand scheme of things, so we don't have a buffer in our agency to magically give an extra free day to staff weekly.
“After all, most creative workplaces don't do standard hours - that's bullshit.
“People are already working mega long hours in most cases and then throwing a pitch on top and that's like mega mega hours.
“So I acknowledge people are doing more hours and I’m asking them to lean into that, to give a little bit longer for nine days in a row but then have the tenth day free.
“However, for some that structure puts real pressure on their life, if you're a single parent or you've just got stuff to do at certain times it won’t work.
“That’s why I’m not formally requiring everyone to adhere to the schedule - it’s just not that easy for everyone.
“The whole point of our flexibility arrangements at Go Digital is making life better for our team but still getting what we need done.
“We are into month three of officially starting the 9-day fortnight and we’re starting to see some interesting things, for the most part the feedback is still super high in terms of happiness and productivity.
“Having that extra day makes a huge impact in giving staff the refreshment to go again.
“But we're seeing little trickles where sometimes people have to do work on their day off because shit may have hit the fan.
“In this industry, we have to accept that sometimes it won't be a perfect run. It's usually a tiny moment in time but we're seeing a little bit of it and of course, I make it up to my staff in some way.
“I would say the only reason the 9-day fortnight is working for us is that we all collectively want the same outcome. We all want to work in the ways that suit ‘me’ the best and have an awesome life.
“So why can't you have a long weekend? Or why can't you work in the middle of the night, if that's the time when you're awesomely productive?
“Why does work have to happen in this narrow window of time that we've all agreed - which typically is also in the most beautiful and nicest part of the day.”
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