16 Sep, 2025

Why Everglow is piloting a four day working week

Dan Sargent, a man with short curly brown hair and a goatee, smiles whilst standing indoors in a plain white long-sleeved shirt. Flowers and large windows brighten the background.

By Dan Sargent, Creative Director

As Ferris Bueller reminded us back in the 80s, life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

From next week we’re giving the four day working week a go at Everglow.

This isn’t about cramming five days into four. It’s about working smarter, giving the team more balance, and bringing fresher energy to the work that really matters. And yes, it’s the same pay.

For clients, nothing changes. Support and delivery remain exactly the same. The only difference we hope you notice is the extra energy and sharper thinking we bring to the table.

Why this isn’t just about us

The idea of shorter working weeks has been tested across the UK and beyond, and the results are hard to ignore.

The Guardian recently reported that nearly 3 million people in the UK are already working four day weeks. More than 420 companies have signed up to the 4 Day Week Foundation’s accreditation scheme, which supports a 32 hour week with no loss of pay. Even South Cambridgeshire District Council has made the move permanent after finding services were delivered faster, staff motivation improved, turnover dropped and the council saved money.

So while this is a pilot for us, it is built on strong foundations.

Why now feels like the right time

We have always believed in working smarter, not harder. The best creative thinking doesn’t come from longer hours. It comes from balance, focus and the headspace to see things differently.

A four day week is about creating the conditions for sharper ideas, healthier teams and stronger results. A more focused, balanced team means more creativity and better work for the organisations we partner with.

For us, this pilot is part of a bigger shift in how work is evolving. The old model of productivity measured by time at a desk is breaking down. What really matters is outcomes, not hours.

How we designed the pilot with our team and clients

This isn’t a change we rushed into. We held a team strategy day where we ran workshops to explore how a shorter week could actually work in practice. Together we looked at how we collaborate, how handovers work, and how we can support each other to keep things moving. By involving the team in shaping the pilot, we made sure everyone felt ownership and that continuity for our clients was built in from the start.

We also spoke to our clients and ran a survey before the pilot began, asking how they felt about our availability, responsiveness and delivery. At the end of the pilot, we’ll go back and survey them again so we can benchmark the results. That way we can measure the impact carefully and share what we learn.

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A person with tattoos and rings writes on an orange sticky note with a marker. Colourful sticky notes and a large sheet of paper with handwritten notes and lines are on the table, suggesting a brainstorming session.

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What a shorter week could mean for the creative industry

Creative and digital agencies are known for long hours and last minute pushes. Too often that culture is seen as a badge of honour. The reality is it burns people out and flattens creativity.

If we want our industry to thrive, we need to rethink what good work looks like. A shorter week challenges us to strip out unnecessary processes, to be more intentional with our time, and to protect the energy that drives creativity.

For clients, that can only be a good thing. Less burnout, more focus. Less churn, more stability. A healthier industry that produces better ideas.

What we’ll be testing and learning

This is a pilot. We’ll be testing, learning and listening as we go. If it works, we’ll look to make it permanent. If it needs refining, we’ll adapt. The point is to keep evolving how we work so that it fits with who we are and the kind of company we want to be.

We’ll share what we learn along the way, and we hope other organisations will share their experiences too. Because this is not just about Everglow. It is about exploring how work can be better, fairer and more impactful across our sector and beyond.

Ultimately, this is about creating the conditions for better ideas and stronger impact for the people we work with.

Right now, we’re excited to see what this unlocks for our creativity, our clients and our culture.