NI’s Loud Mouth Media is one of 60 UK firms chosen to pilot four-day week

Loud Mouth Media has become the first digital agency in Northern Ireland to be accepted on to a four-day week pilot. The new working model came into effect from yesterday (June 6) for a six-month period as part of a wider UK pilot programme.

Launched by 4-Day Week Global, the UK pilot programme is being run in partnership with leading think tank, Autonomy, and researchers at Cambridge University, Boston College and Oxford University.

Loud Mouth which has offices in Belfast, Glasgow, London and Dublin, and a team of 30 has been accepted as one of just 60 companies in the trial running parallel to pilot schemes in Ireland, the United States and Canada.

Mark Haslam, managing director of Loud Mouth Media, said: “We’ve been in touch with 4-Day Week Global for several months and I am delighted to say that Loud Mouth has been accepted as one of just 60 companies on the UK trial. It’s exciting to be able to offer a better work life balance for our talented team whilst continuing to deliver a quality service to clients. I have every confidence that the team will adapt well to the new model, and I know we’re all excited to see it introduced next month.

“During the pandemic while we worked from home a big focus for us was the wellbeing of our staff and as we return to the office and an increasingly normal structure, we want to continue to ensure the team have the balance they deserve, to adequately rest and have quality time with friends and family. I’m particularly interested in the research that shows a four-day working week benefits mental and physical health, particularly in relation to how this can increase productivity.

“In addition, we’ll be enabling our team to reduce their carbon footprint with fewer commutes and less time spent in office. Businesses have a responsibility to make positive change and better the communities we’re part of right across the board so to pilot this working model is for us a no brainer.”

4-Day Week Global’s approach is based on the 100:80:100 principle – 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.

The model is proven to deliver both improved company productivity, efficiency and performance, alongside greater employee wellbeing, engagement, and work-life balance. Research from leading international academics suggest the four-day working week can be a truly triple-dividend policy, better for the economy, better for society, and better for the environment.

Joe O’Connor, CEO at 4-Day Week Global, explained: “Initially established as a networking community for like-minded people and organisations interested in exploring the shorter working week, 4-Day Week Global has grown to become the global market leader in supporting businesses who wish to experiment with or implement work time reduction.

“The development of 4-Day Week Global’s pilot programme in 2021 has enabled the organisation to respond to the exponential growth in demand for and interest in the four-day working week, and to shift to a model which can uniquely support employers and employees to run trials at scale.”

Loud Mouth Media who specialise in search, display, SEO and social advertising work with clients such as The AA, Tourism Northern Ireland, GT Omega, Harry Corry, BES, The BBC, and more. The logistics around the new model include operating a full time, five-day working week from a client perspective, but with the team divided half taking Fridays and the remaining taking Mondays off based on client and project needs.

Orla Kelly, operations and marketing director at Loud Mouth Media, added: “Supported by 4-Day Week Global, we’re now able to offer our team designated training, digital resources and workshops to help them understand how to get the most from this new working model and overcome any challenges. The core focus of the pilot is on productivity and changing how we think about time and output. Our team structure lends itself well to a four-day week as it already allows for continuity of holidays, illness and continued fresh thinking.”