Neticle supports work-life balance with a summer-friendly schedule

After going on summer break for the second half of July, August will also be less packed for our team with each Friday off.

Lying on the beach, dancing at festivals, catching up with family at garden barbecues, or going camping? The list of fun summer activities goes on, and we want our colleagues to make the most of them. The two-week break in July has become a tradition, but this year, enjoying summer activities will be easier in August as well, because each weekend will be a long weekend with all Fridays off.

The management has been contemplating different strategies for decreasing working time without decreasing pay, and has considered various best practices to adopt temporarily or permanently. Each of these options come with the advantages of creating HR value, and making the remaining working hours more focused.

So, what kind of balance-friendly schedules are out there?

• 9-day fortnight – Every second week has only 4 working days. A significant decrease, but it can create a challenge in planning.
• 5x7 hours each week – Logistically easier, but it is also harder to keep to, as it’s easy to slip into working 8 hours instead of stopping at 7.
• Only working 4 days, but not the same four for each team member. In the end, the schedule is adjusted to still manage all needs and cover most time slots. This is great, but it can be too complicated for a small team like ours.
• Shorter Fridays (4 hours) – Can be a good solution, depending on the type of clientele the company has.
• 4x8 hours (each Friday is off), or 5x6 hours (each day is shorter) for the whole team – These are more significant decreases in working time, so they may be adopted only temporarily.

Let’s be clear: none of these versions can be adopted from one day to the next. They need lots of preparation, especially in terms of how to maintain client support, and to make sure no bottlenecks are created in rolling out updates. Neticle’s team discussed all of this, and took into consideration the fact that our current system is actually already very flexible with taking time off. We don’t want our weekdays to be even more packed, and creative resources to run out.

This is why we have come to the agreement that we’re going to try the 4x8 hours version for just one month at first: in August, which is a less busy time. Of course, we’ll draw the conclusions afterwards and we’ll see if this should become a tradition as well. During days off, urgent client support will still be maintained, and performance-related pay will be calculated based on the average of the previous months. Planning schedules had already started weeks ago, so no one should be surprised or confused after coming back from the two-week break.

We’re excited to see how this new work policy encourages the team, and we hope all colleagues get their well-deserved recharge during the summer months. Off to the beach now!