The world of work is changing. Today’s professionals want more. They’re looking for personalised flexibility, meaning in what they’re doing, and a strong sense of balance. For employers, that means potentially rethinking old models and finding new ways to deliver for their people and their clients – against a backdrop of rapid technological change and external uncertainties. This brings both challenge and a great opportunity for organisations.
At IFF, we’ve always believed that people are at the heart of everything we do – not only in the research we conduct, but in how we work together as colleagues. That’s why, this summer, in line with our value of being human first, we began trialling a four-day working week – exploring what the future of work might look like in practice.
Exploring better ways of working
As a social research agency, experimentation is in our DNA. We test, measure, and evaluate new approaches for our clients every day. Bringing that same mindset to our workplace is a natural step.
The four-day week offers an exciting hypothesis: that shorter working time, without a loss of pay, can deliver higher productivity, improved wellbeing, and stronger engagement in your team leading to improved levels of service for your clients. We wanted to put that to the test – to see whether the potential benefits could hold true for our people, our clients, and our business.
Key lessons along the way
The trial is ongoing, but already we’re seeing that focusing on outputs rather than hours is changing how we work for the better. Team members are reporting wellbeing benefits, teams are identifying efficiencies, and collaboration feels sharper. Plus, on the days when individuals are enjoying some non-working time, the remaining team are reporting the benefits of more focused time without distractions.
Of course, it hasn’t been perfect, and there’s been plenty of learning along the way. Reworking meetings, balancing workloads and communications between team members with differing non-working days have been challenges. And we’ve had to revisit how we set expectations and hold people to account – which, admittedly, has been a valuable process in and of itself. But challenges are part of learning, and they’re helping us figure out what works best.
The four-day working week is not a silver bullet, nor will it suit every organisation. But we believe that the principle behind it – that people’s wellbeing and business success go hand in hand – should be at the heart of how all organisations think about the future of work.
So far, our early experience reinforces a belief we’ve long held: when our people do well, our business does too. And sometimes, that means being brave enough to try something different, even if we’re not 100% sure of the outcome.
Looking ahead
We don’t yet know whether a four-day week will become a permanent part of life at IFF. But, whatever happens, the learning will stick – helping us refine how we work, how we collaborate, and how we support our people to do their best work and deliver for our clients.