Bristol not-for-profit organisation City to Sea is celebrating its one year anniversary of introducing a four-day week, with no loss of pay for its 19 employees.

The environmental organisation trialled the four-day week for a six month period in September 2021, opting to permanently adopt it in spring this year. Since adopting the policy, the organisation has reported a boost in employee wellbeing, as well as increased productivity and a better work-life balance across the board.

The COVID pandemic marked an increase in popularity for the idea of a shorter working week, and in the last two years this model has been trialled by organisations across the world. Numerous studies back City to Sea’s findings regarding the effects of the model of employee wellbeing and productivity.

Steve Hynd, City to Sea’s Policy Manager commented:

“Working for a 4 day a week employer has helped me improve my physical and mental health. I can spend more time with my young children. It allows space to breathe and to take stock in an otherwise incredibly busy life. Crucially when I am at work it helps me work more productively. It’s not a silver bullet but it is part of a package of positive HR policies that most organisations could and should adopt.”

Hetti Dysch, City to Sea’s HR Manager commented:

“The ‘blaze and burn culture’ of faster, bigger, and better creates workforce burnout and fatigue. Ultimately this culture has led to climate catastrophe as profit is placed above the protection of our precious planet. At City to Sea, we’ve switched to the four-day week as we care about the long-term wellbeing of our team who campaign to protect our oceans from plastic pollution.”