Case study

Improving Productivity and Wellbeing for a UK Charity Moving to a 4.5 Day Work Week

Situation

A UK charity was looking to implement a 4.5 day working week. However, it was unsure about how this would impact productivity and wellbeing or if their people would find condensing their working week challenging. So, with productivity a key priority, they partnered with Live More Offline to deliver a two-part digital productivity series to multiple cohorts. Did you know that productivity is 40% lower in distracted environments and it takes us 23 minutes to get back to a task if interrupted? The aim of the sessions was to equip employees with the necessary skills to work smarter and more efficiently in digital work, thus freeing up more time to ease the transition to a shorter working week.

I think our teams will work better together, in a more mindful way

Approach

In Workshop 1, “Mythbusting Multitasking: Unlocking Productivity,” employees learned about the science behind multitasking and how it actually decreases productivity. They received tips on creating a culture of focus by minimising distractions and introduced to the Three Modes of Working concept as a way to structure their day, streamline digital work and increase productivity.

Workshop 2, “Smarter Not Harder: Digital Working Techniques,” focused on digital working techniques to help employees work more efficiently, including productivity tools and efficient remote meetings. They explored the concept of asynchronous working and how to capitalise upon it in a digital working environment.

Results

The workshops were well-received by employees, with feedback including, “Three mode working is a game changer” and “More efficient, less distracted work flow.” A survey two months after the workshops showed 100% of employees believed their productivity had increased, and 97% had seen an improvement in their wellbeing.

By investing in the workshop series, the charity successfully launched a 4.5 day working week while maintaining high levels of productivity and employee wellbeing. Employees could better manage their time and focus on their tasks by using the practical tips and techniques to work smarter and more efficiently. In addition, the workshops allowed their people to trial the reduced working week with confidence.

The charity went further and combined these digital productivity sessions with a Digital Culture DiagnosticTM half-way through their six-month trial of the new way of working. This will provide them crucial insights into how their people were experiencing digital work in the ‘new normal’. The charity is excited about how the insights they will gain will help them to make adjustments to improve the reduced-week approach in the second half of the trial, enabling them to iterate and improve their approach even within the trial itself.