Four-day week gives safe harbour in frenetic adland

“Agencies have always been where I’ve felt most passionate, but my first experience in an agency about 15 years ago was also the time I felt most burnt out,” says Cioccio. “It was incredibly thrilling, fulfilling, challenging work. But I was working crazy hours. It was right before I started a family and you do it because you can.”

Three kids, a pandemic and a redundancy later, including a stint job sharing a part-time role, meant Cioccio was ready to embrace a career opportunity where she didn’t have to work full time in a part-time role.

Equality Media’s founder, Marilla Akkermans, saw her post on LinkedIn that she was scouting for freelance work, which led to a position at the agency.

“It’s been an incredible opportunity for me to re-enter the workforce in full force after being a part-time employee for 10 years,” says Cioccio. “Marilla creates equity and financial independence for women who are contributing to the workforce more than what their job says on paper.

“Good work and good culture are intertwined. She didn’t start out as an entrepreneur to sell the business and ride off in a cushion of cash. She wants a place where it’s sustainable for her to have a career and, because of that, the rest of us are pretty damn lucky because we get to do the same thing.”

This approach makes a real difference to working mothers, who can enjoy all the benefits of a full-time wage while working reduced hours.

“The knock-on effect is we get to give them extra super and they’re earning an income for now and the future. Plus, that time out of the workforce [caring for family] can be more limited and less prohibitive on your life,” says Akkermans.

As a smaller agency, Akkermans had to find a way to compete with the flashy, big-name ad firms to attract top-notch people. One way to do this was to offer a better work experience.

“I remember what it feels like being an employee. What always happened to me was that when I was really efficient with my work, I got rewarded with more work,” she says.

“I had seen the four-day work week starting to gain momentum overseas. The theory is, if you can get people to be more efficient for an hour a day, you can give them their own time back.

“We know people who are more well rested and feel like there’s some semblance of balance in their lives produce better work. So it was this opportunity to do something no other media agency was offering.”

Proper preparation ensured the four-day week was successful.

“You can’t just decide one day you’re going to do it and implement it the next and expect it to be successful, so we spent three months planning,” says Akkermans.

This included a good look at how people spend their time in deep work, meetings and admin. Meeting client needs was another consideration. Crucially, firm performance has improved since the four-day week was introduced and staff retention is sitting at 97 per cent.

“We’ve only increased our margins since we implemented the four-day work week. The retention rate is a huge number and a positive indicator the parts we’re putting together are working really well,” says Akkermans.