Building A Healthier Future | Tyler Grange Blog

The Tyler Grange Tribe is what makes us great. We want to do everything in our power to keep them healthy and happy, so they can keep on living life to the fullest, find joy in their work and provide you with phenomenal support.

That’s why we’ve decided to launch a four-day week pilot this June. To create a healthier future for our Tribe. Thus strengthening their impact on your business, communities, and the world.

Keep reading to learn:

What motivated this decision
How it will work
The benefits of a four-day working week

What motivated this decision?

We promise we’ll only mention it once, but we’ve learnt a lot from the pandemic. About the way we work, how we value our health, and the importance of social interaction with others. Reflecting on this has made us realise something important.

We want to do more to help our Tribe achieve a work-life balance.

Our Tribe benefits from many of our wellbeing initiatives, including free counselling and ongoing mentorship. But perhaps the most valuable thing we can offer is more time.

By giving them an extra day per week to recharge, spend time with their families, and continue to volunteer, we’re confident it’ll have a huge impact on their wellbeing, the communities around us, and your business.

This hasn’t been a rash decision. We sought advice from numerous experts. We’ve also subscribed to the 4 Day Week Campaign, which has been formed in partnership with the likes of Autonomy, a progressive research foundation, and New Economics Foundation, which is helping to transform the economy so it works for people and the planet. We’re confident we’ll see compelling benefits in the short term, as we detail below.

How will it work?

Friday will be the day when the whole business is closed.

Often, brain juice is spent, and we tire as the days roll past; by Friday, society is beginning to wind down early for the weekend. That’s why it’s no surprise to us that research suggests that it’s the least productive day of the week. In a 2019 Accountemps survey of more than 300 HR managers, only 10% pegged Friday as their most productive day.

This day may change – it’ll be under continuous review.

How will this affect your business? We’ll still be there for you in emergencies. But if your request can wait until Monday, this is best as you’ll benefit from a team that is better rested, focused and motivated to support you.

Also, we’re increasing our office opening hours (8:30 – 18:00) but not hours worked. We’ll use the extra office hours to help transition our team to a four-day week, making it a smooth process for them and you.

As well as a more motivated and high-performing team, you’ll benefit from improved efficiency. We’re boosting our processes, making them more consistent and slicker. Our team will have more time to spend on the most critical aspects of their work, driving their satisfaction and performance.

[Our clients can click here to learn more about our changes, and FAQs too].

The benefits of a four day week

From improved employee wellbeing to higher productivity levels, there’s much to gain from a four-day working week. Let’s look at these benefits in more detail.

Increasing our Tribe’s happiness

A report conducted by Compass and Autonomy explained how “there are four key components of time away from work that allow workers to rest and recuperate:

relaxation, mastery, control and psychological detachment.”

Having an extra day off work every week gives our Tribe precious free time to use exactly as they see fit, which is more beneficial than irregular longer periods of leave, according to a Stress Health study by J. Bloom, S. Geurts and M. Kompier. Note: our Tribe’s holiday entitlement remains unchanged.

Our Tribe’s happiness is our top priority. But we’re also excited by the benefits a four-day working week may bring for the business and our clients. We expect to see reduced absences, and fundamentally, an increase in productivity.

Driving our productivity

Logically speaking, well-rested employees will naturally be more motivated to make the most out of their working day. Research supports this.

International comparisons suggest that countries with fewer hours in a working week are more productive than those with more working hours. Research by TUC found “full-time employees in Germany work 1.8 hours a week less than those in the UK but are 14.6% more productive.”

We’ll continually monitor our productivity levels following the launch of a four-day working week to see whether or not they improve. It’ll be a win-win if our employees are happier while you benefit from their increased output – that’s what we are aiming for.

Also, as previously mentioned, we’re focusing on improving our processes, which will result in more productivity gains for our business and yours.

Helping the environment

A report on the environmental benefits of a shorter working week commissioned by the Four-Day Week campaign illuminated exciting results.

It found that “shifting to a four-day working week by 2025 could shrink the UK’s annual carbon footprint by 127 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, address some of the hardest to decarbonise emissions from international transport and manufacturing, and reduce the outsourcing of pollution to poorer countries.”

This is a result of:

a reduction in energy consumption
a reduction in carbon-intensive commuting
a shift towards low carbon activities
an indirect impact on emissions through health benefits

Looking at our business specifically, we’re confident a four-day working week will reduce our environmental impact. Tribe members will be commuting less and reducing their time spent in the office, helping us lower our overall energy consumption.

The environmental benefits have played a huge role in our decision. We’re currently working towards B Corp certification. Introducing a four-day working week will likely bring us a step closer to this goal.

Supporting communities

Community days, which are optional and take place once every month, will occur on Fridays from now on. We’ll also be exploring how we can further support our team to help them fulfil our social responsibility pledge throughout this trial.

Also, we see the four-day working week as an extension of our effort to support communities. Healthier Tribe members will feel more motivated to spend a small portion of their free time volunteering and contributing to the causes they care about the most.

This is also a vital component of helping the environment. By strengthening communities through funding and volunteering, we’ll equip more people with the resources and knowledge needed to support the natural environment around them.

Watch our latest community project video for Farms for City Children here and keep tabs on our community work by following us on Instagram and Twitter.

Let’s build a healthier industry

The nature of our industry leans to longer hours and intense working weeks. Certain aspects of this are unavoidable, especially during peak season for our ecologists, who need to be as nocturnal as the animals they survey.

Still, we see a real opportunity for the industry to improve. And we want to lead the way, demonstrating how a four-day working week is both plausible and beneficial for people in the industry.

That said, this is definitely going to be a trial and things might not always go to plan. We want to make sure the benefits are tangible for you and our Tribe.

If the trial is successful, and we’re optimistic it will be, we’ll implement it as a permanent change to the way we work.

We’ll keep you updated whatever happens. We also love to hear your thoughts. Let us know what you think by emailing hello@tylergrange.co.uk.

Building a healthier future for TG, the industry and the environment

What motivated this decision?

How will it work?

The benefits of a four day week

Increasing our Tribe’s happiness

Driving our productivity

Helping the environment

Supporting communities

Let’s build a healthier industry

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