Making a progressive leap in 2020: introducing a 4-day working week

January 16, 2020

Working culture

The architecture industry is notorious for having a 'toxic culture' of long hours and unpaid overtime, which comes with a preconception that this is what practices rely on to produce great work. At Barefoot Architects we have always rejected this idea. We believe we can work effectively to provide a good service and exceptional design without expecting our staff to put more and more hours into a project. The creative process is not an efficient one if people are tired and fatigued so we’ve long realised that it makes little sense to work long hours regularly. We recognise the importance of maintaining a good work-life balance, and when we need to work overtime to meet our clients’ deadlines we ensure that everyone takes time off in lieu. We see architecture as a professional practice and one that should be valued and run as such.

The argument for a four-day week

Beyond this, Barefoot Architects have long been discussing the idea of reduced working hours; an idea that has been gathering momentum in the media and on the political stage over the last few years. Studies suggest that reduced working hours can increase productivity, and can also have many wider benefits. These include improving happiness, health, and well-being, as well as reducing our environmental impact. It can free up time for often undervalued activities such as caring for family members or volunteering for local projects, and create the freedom to explore new interests and expand our skills and knowledge.

Organisations like the New Economics Foundation have inspired us to explore ideas of how the shift to a four day week can also have far-reaching positive societal impacts and help the transition to a more sustainable economy. Whilst governments and larger organisations move slowly in making changes, we at Barefoot are keen to accelerate and test these ideas ourselves.

What are we doing

We have therefore decided to implement a 4-day week - not just by cramming the same number of hours into four days as we previously worked in five, but by reducing the time we spend working to a 32-hour week. What does this mean to us? More time to spend with our families, more time to see our kids grow, more time for volunteering and supporting others in their endeavours, more time for learning and growing as creative people... and more time to cultivate community. As a company we have discussed this extensively and have the support of all our staff. We may need to get used to having less money to take home, but we are keen to put greater value on the other benefits the changes will bring.

Barefoot Architects are busier than ever and are committed to ensuring our reduced working week does not impact on current or future clients. We have just employed another Architect (Julia Wilson) to help us manage our growing workload, and are excited that this will expand the pool of ideas and creativity in the office. Most of us will take our day off on a Friday - usually the quietest day anyway - but we will ensure that the office is always open.

We hope to make this a permanent change but intend to run it as a trial over the next few months. We're all keen to see how it goes and will continue to discuss and reflect on it within the office and with the wider community.