CEO Who Gave Employees Three-Day Weekends Sees Productivity Soar

Work is rubbish, as we all know. Well, unless your job is chocolate taster or video games tester, work is rubbish. Wouldn't it be better if we just didn't have to do it so often?

Well, there's a growing theory among academics that work is a little bit too much like hard work, and that we should all be working just a little bit less.

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Post-work, as it is known, holds that the current idea of work is not only killing us, but it's also counter-productive - working too hard makes us less good at work. But one CEO has taken this to heart and decided to do something about it.

Mark Douglas of American advertising and marketing company SteelHouse has been running an experiment in which his firm has afforded their employees a three day weekend in months that don't ready have one. It might only add up to five extra holiday days per annum, but according to Douglas, it is doing wonders for employee happiness and productivity.

"We're literally removing a day a month out of the work month for the entire company," he told Business Insider.

"You're taking a bet that this will ultimately benefit everyone, including the company yourself.

"When you make it so the whole team does it, it really does give the entire team a long weekend - a built-in, enjoy-yourself time each month of the year."

He added that the company's revenues have not been affected at all, and that he thought that it had actively helped his team togetherness.

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The SteelHouse days off, as they are known, mean that the whole company shuts down. As nobody is working, employees aren't even able to check their emails and are thus totally detached from their jobs, allowing for maximum relaxation.

The company also offers $2,000 (£1,450) a per year per employee for staff holidays, allowing its workers to travel. The five days extra holiday a year are often taken for weekend trips away, using the budget given to employees by the company.

Douglas thinks that this perk, gifted by the company, fosters a better environment and is paid back in increased productivity by his workforce.

"It doesn't take a lot of science," he says. "It's just a matter of having the courage to do something different and believing that there will be a net gain from it."

Yup, we're into it.

Topics: World News, News

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman