Why we’re expermenting with a 4-day work week…

This week, Transport Evolved is beginning our trail of a four-day work week. We’re curious to see how it will work out.

Moving to a four-day week should help increase productivity and improve mental health.

It’s Wednesday, and nobody is clocking in. And while I do have a few short tasks to do, it feels like the weekend. That’s because we’re starting a test of a four-day work week to see what it feels like.

Hopefully, it will result in TE working Monday-Tuesday, then Thursday-Friday, with exceptions for breaking news stories and launch events.

Our reasons for doing it?

1. Mental and physical well-being.
   
   For those who don't know, I suffer from Long QT Syndrome, a genetic pacing condition of the heart which means that my heart doesn't depolarize properly after the Q phase of a heart beat. The irony of not having an electrically sound heart while being an EV journalist is not lost on me. Because I am on medication designed to slow down my heart (thus reducing the risk of a sudden cardiac arrest) I get very tired, very quickly. Over the last few years, I've been over-working and becoming so tired on a Thursday/Friday that my productivity has slowed down and I've often found myself collapsing with exhaustion and/or working the weekend to correct mistakes.

   
   A few weeks ago, we had a four-day weekend and I felt back to the me of four years ago (pre-diagnosis). I liked it, and I'd like to have more of that thanks, so I'm going to make time for myself mid-week and split one long marathon into two shorter, more manageable sprints. For mental health too, having a day off mid-week can really help - especially as some of my team have noted, when they have a long list of things they want to do during the week (but usually are at work). While we have unlimited time off at the company, most folk don't like taking days off when work schedules are tight... so this makes taking a day off more 'normal'.
   
   
   

2. Productivity.
   
   Working ten-hour days instead of 8-hour days seems to be a lot more productive. Especially in the world of video editing, where you can get in a groove and not want to stop, ten hour work days mean you go home feeling like you've got a lot more done... because you've got a lot more done.

   For myself and my team, it also means we can work on multiple videos in a day. I've been consistently one to two days ahead of myself this week and it ROCKS.

   
   Then there are meetings with clients and partners around the world. This last few weeks, I've had meeting with people on the east coast, Europe, and Israel, as well as regular contact with our clients in New Zealand. Ten hour days mean we overlap with other countries more often, and it makes meetings far easier to achieve.
   
   
   

3. Commuting.
   
   While most of the team work from their respective homes (we ditched our dedicated 1,400 square foot production studio a few months into COVID-19) Michael, our video editor, commutes to our new office (my house) every day, only occasionally working from home when he has non-video production work to do. Other members of the team commute to the office semi-regularly too.
   
   While the home office setup isn’t ideal, since my last teenager moved out, it’s been two of us in a 2,000 square foot home, meaning we’ve been able to dedicate one former bedroom to a filming studio, and one former bedroom into a production studio. The upstairs closet? That’s a server room, and we’ve just added heat pumps to the house to ensure a comfortable work environment for everyone.
   
   Although everyone who works at TE owns a plug-in car, and everyone gets to charge from our solar panels while at the studio, the two people on staff who do not own a home are plug-in hybrid (Chevrolet Volt) owners. One does have a chance to charge at home, but the other does not, meaning they’re still victim to rising gas prices. While they do charge whenever possible, the rising price of gas is starting to impact hard. And while we’d love to get them a dedicated charging station at their apartment complex, right now, we’re hitting brick walls. Commuting four days a week for ten hour work days is cheaper than commuting five days a week for eight hour work days, especially when that commute is a 50-mile round trip.
   
   
   

4. Flexibility

   
   Occasionally, things go wrong. Occasionally, the metaphorical hits the fan, and we’re left scrambling. Planning a week where Wednesdays aren’t working days allows us to be flexible. If there’s an event we need to go to, or we need to reschedule things, we at least do have a slot to fill (and move from another day) in exceptional circumstances. Now, I know what you’re thinking - this practice will lead to us ‘filling up’ our days off. And without some serious discipline, I’d agree. I guess this one will require some time to prove right (or wrong).
   

Will anything change at the company? Well, my hope is that we become more productive and more efficient, as well as becoming more rested and more flexible with our days. I’m also hoping for a better kept lawn and garden - it’s forecast to not rain today and my 1/3 acre lawn is very neglected after consecutive weekends of heavy rain. I also have plenty of gardening to keep me occupied over consecutive Wednesdays!

Our goal is to continue to produce content every Wednesday, and our team have agreed to remain ‘contactable’ on Wednesdays in case a major news story breaks that absolutely needs to be dealt with there and then. But for the most part, we’re just going to keep making great content and continuing to inform our audience.

Which reminds me. Have you checked out our BMW i4 eDrive 40 teaser yet? It’s most excellent.