Abi Best, managing partner at Oxfordshire-based travel PR firm Lemongrass Marketing, believes becoming the UK’s first travel PR agency to introduce a four-day week will lead to “happier, healthier” staff
We’re very proud to becoming the UK’s first travel PR agency to introduce the four-day week, as of September 1. The new initiative not only aligns with our wider commitment to staff wellbeing and prioritising our people, but it also supports our journey to becoming a B Corp.
Given that PR is a creative industry, the shorter week will allow more headspace for the team to creatively thrive and produce fresh ideas. We’re confident that it will also encourage happier, healthier staff, boost productivity and allow them time to pursue other interests, such as volunteering, community work, care for elderly relatives, or just pursue a hobby.
Considering the last few years, it has been a challenging time, particularly as a business working in the travel industry.
However, we emerged stronger and this is testament to the resilience and support of our dedicated team who went above and beyond. This new initiative will contribute to rewarding their efforts and commitment to the agency.
We also want to continue to attract new talent in the industry. As a forward thinking, values-driven business that invests in staff wellbeing, we believe the 4-day week is a great work perk which we are confident will help us recruit the best travel PR and content specialists, no matter where they are based.
The 4 day week is based on the 100:80:100 model, whereby we will offer 100% pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintain 100% productivity. Therefore, the team will be paid for 5 days but work only 4. In the meantime, all clients will receive the same service levels as we introduce a system of alternate shift patterns Monday – Friday to maintain full team productivity and output. We will evaluate client happiness and staff wellbeing as well as business efficiency and productivity on a weekly basis.
We strongly believe that this approach will be the future of work and that there will be so many benefits, not just to our valued employees and new starters, but also to our clients and the health of the business overall. We’re really excited about trialling the initiative and the journey, and will be sharing our experiences on our company social media channels.”