{"id":846,"date":"2025-04-24T05:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T05:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/?p=846"},"modified":"2025-04-30T10:22:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T10:22:52","slug":"what-happened-when-we-gave-everyone-fridays-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/24\/what-happened-when-we-gave-everyone-fridays-off\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened when we gave everyone Fridays off"},"content":{"rendered":"

Businesses worldwide are exploring ways to improve <\/span>work-life balance<\/b><\/a>, enhance productivity and attract top talent. At Interlink, we took a bold step forward and moved to a four-day working week. It’s been a resounding success.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since founding Interlink in 2018 with my business partner, Jay Gorga, we’ve expanded to 120 employees and opened offices in India, Singapore, and the US — alongside our UK HQ. <\/span><\/p>\n

We’ve always tried to stay true to our goal of fostering a positive work environment, creating a business where employees feel empowered, engaged, and able to perform at their best. <\/span><\/p>\n

We’re proud of being <\/span>disruptors in our industry<\/b><\/a> and have always wanted to reflect this disruption in our business culture too, challenging norms and conventions to blaze a trail where others can follow. <\/span><\/p>\n

With this in mind, we decided to work towards <\/span>implementing a four-day week<\/b><\/a>. Our overarching aims were to improve employee wellbeing and work-life balance, enhancing employee engagement, retention and job satisfaction, while attracting top-tier talent by offering a progressive<\/span> work culture<\/b><\/a>. <\/b><\/p>\n

At the same time, we were determined to maintain or even improve productivity and client service levels despite reduced working hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

An 18-month experiment<\/h2>\n

We knew this wouldn’t be an overnight change and took a methodical approach. Having taken on board advice from <\/span>4 Day Week Global<\/b><\/a>, we invested in an 18-month gradual transition. <\/span><\/p>\n

This involved setting aside management time to lead the change effectively; investing in legal advice to ensure <\/span>compliance with tax regulations<\/b><\/a>; implementing tools for increased collaborative working, and investing in office space to optimise the time in the week when people are together as a team. <\/span><\/p>\n

By taking an iterative approach, testing different ways of working to find the most effective process, we were able to ensure productivity remained high while team members adapted to the schedule. <\/span><\/p>\n

For the first six months, everyone reduced their hours to a 4.5-day week, which was followed by six months of alternate teams working every other Friday. <\/span><\/p>\n

For the next six months, we implemented a full<\/span> trial of a four-day work week<\/b><\/a> before moving to a permanent change. Our approach is <\/span>100% pay, 80% hours, 100% output.<\/b><\/p>\n

To make sure the change worked for everyone, including our customers, we introduced an automated urgent inbox for Friday queries for uninterrupted <\/span>client service<\/b><\/a>. In the interests of fairness and inclusion, the flexible work model applies equally across all roles and levels. <\/span><\/p>\n

And, to prevent isolation, we’ve doubled-down on our <\/span>community values<\/b><\/a> by implementing structured office days, virtual collaboration tools and various team-building initiatives in the year. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sick leave and resignations plummeted<\/h2>\n

Reassuringly, the results of our four-day working week have been overwhelmingly positive. Interlink stands out in the job market and has attracted 12 high-calibre candidates in the past year alone, which make up over 25% of our HR workforce. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, <\/span>our <\/b>retention rate<\/b><\/a> has stayed above 90%<\/b>, with only three voluntary departures in the past year, well below the average for our industry. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not only have we been awarded the ‘Great Place to Work’ certification for three years in a row (with an average 90% satisfaction score), but an internal survey revealed a 15% boost in employee satisfaction related to flexible working and benefits. <\/span><\/p>\n

We’ve also seen a <\/span>12% reduction in <\/b>sickness absence<\/b><\/a>, which is now only two days per employee in a rolling 12-month period.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to business performance, we hit 100% of our revenue targets in 2023 and 2024 along with year-on-year growth; all evidence that <\/span>a reduction in hours does not mean a reduction in productivity<\/b>. And, our client retention rate is way above industry average, highlighting that there’s been no negative impact on customer service either.  <\/span><\/p>\n

TGIF<\/h2>\n

Moving to a four-day week was never just about reducing hours, but instead a concerted effort to nurture a healthier, more productive and engaged workforce. <\/span><\/p>\n

We’ve shown that flexibility and performance can go hand in hand, setting a precedent for other businesses looking to <\/span>embrace the future of work<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Interlink continues to grow and evolve, we remain committed to balancing employee wellbeing with business success. Watch this space. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n \"\" <\/div>\n
\n


\n Andrew McLernon, co-founder and CEO of Interlink <\/span><\/p>\n

Andy is the co-founder and CEO of Interlink, a global company delivering AI-powered, cost-effective lead generation for enterprise tech businesses. An EY Entrepreneur of the Year Nominee (2024) and passionate 4-Day Week advocate, he launched Interlink in 2018 with co-founder Jay Gorga to bridge the gap between sales and marketing through ethical, transparent solutions.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Interlink <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

March signalled the start of a <\/b>four-day week pilot for tech businesses<\/b><\/a>. Find out why technology and software is an ideal sector for the four-day week.<\/b><\/p>\n

The post What happened when we gave everyone Fridays off<\/a> appeared first on Startups.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Businesses worldwide are exploring ways to improve work-life balance, enhance productivity and attract top talent. At Interlink, we took a bold step forward and moved to a four-day working week. It’s been a resounding success. Since founding Interlink in 2018 with my business partner, Jay Gorga, we’ve expanded to 120 employees and opened offices in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":849,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846\/revisions\/849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}