kwpx gives staff every 10th day off to promote wellness and effectiveness
“Burn out.” “Quiet quitting.” “Career Cushioning.” If there’s one thing advertising is good at, it’s coming up with new ways to sell old ideas.
In 2023 the world of work moans and creaks as it navigates a choppy—post-global-pandemic—sea of change.
For the past five months, kwpx have worked nine days a fortnight instead of 10. And the results are in. The sky hasn’t fallen—indeed—staff morale and productivity is up.
Since their recent merger, kwpx&partners has also benefited from this initiative, which has proven to give a more acute focus to the Fremantle based team as they continue to deliver effective campaigns to their clients.
“The Nine-Day-Fortnight has proven once again that if you work smarter, making good decisions and good use of the time you have available, you can surpass all expectations whilst still allowing for time to recharge,” said kwpx&partners Business Director Dru Mincher.
CEO at kwpx, David O’Loughlin, said: “Humans aren’t robots.”
“The world of work, the way we work, and the way we measure impact and effectiveness—today—quite literally enables us to do more with less. It was time to give that dividend back to our people.”
Of course, what the boss thinks and what the staff feel are often in need of alignment. But with monthly surveys from staff across their three offices (Adelaide, Darwin and Fremantle) consistently telling a positive story, it’s starting to look like kwpx’s Nine-Day-Fortnight trial will turn into a key employee benefit.
The feedback speaks for itself:
“I am surprised at the difference that one day has made to my overall enjoyment of work. The reset that comes around every two weeks always feels timely and allows me to re-engage with work with more enthusiasm.”
“I feel I have been able to better prioritise my workload, as having less time to complete task has forced me to be even more efficient. Not only that, but I have an extra day to completely decompress and have time to myself and my family.”
“Having a day to dedicate to my own creative pursuits fuels me and fills my cup so I can give more to my work.”
Kwpx believe the nine-day work fortnight means disruption to client workflow is minimal while employee attention is focused on delivering within the cadence of a fortnightly rhythm.
Executive Director, Sam Davies, said: “As a business we are committed to exploring modern business practices and looking for better solutions, both for our clients and our team”.
The trial will run until January 2024 with kwpx publishing the results at the trial’s conclusion.
With leaked documents from Amazon showing their staff attrition rate was approaching 100% last year and staff turnover estimated at costing the business “$8 Billion annually” kwpx believe the lesson from Amazon is simple: Don’t treat humans like robots.
“This ‘day off a fortnight’ we’re giving our staff is all about encouraging them to be innovative, to value their time, and take responsibility for it,” says O’Loughlin.
“Everyone wastes time at work they could better spend with friends, or family, or whatever the hell they want.
“I just think it makes that whole, ‘work smarter, not harder’ cliché actually mean something to our people and our clients,” he said.