Gloucester-based recruitment firm Marvel will trial a new four-day working week for its employees from May 2024.
The firm, which specialises in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, will reduce its working days from five to four as part of a three-month trial, with employees continuing to receive 100% of their pay and benefits.
During the trial, co-founders Rich Howell and Lucy Reeves will hold regular team discussions to examine the impact on employees and overall business performance, while sharing their findings and observations on LinkedIn. At the end of the pilot, they will decide whether or not to introduce the arrangement on a permanent basis.
The decision to trial a four-day working week was made after the co-founders both experienced burnout in 2023 and wanted to look for a way of working that not only protected themselves, but also others in the business. The aim is to help employees cope with the demands of an often high-pressured working environment.
Howell said: “There is no shame in admitting that work has got the better of us all at some point, and because of this we need the opportunity to recharge and focus on ourselves. I also want our people to be at the top of their game and you can’t do that half empty. Some might say it’s a risk but we see it as an opportunity to explore an alternative way of working that has the potential to have a really positive impact on our employees.”
Reeves added: “As founders, we’ve experienced first-hand the negative effects of not having time to properly look after our physical and mental wellbeing, while staying focused on growing a business. The bottom line is that while our industry, our pace of work and our client demands aren’t going to change, what we can control is how we operate so that we can better manage the effects of the workload on ourselves and our team. We know we need to give this trial a high level of commitment to make it work, but we’re really excited to see how it works out for us all.”