‘My 4 Day Week’ with Theo Krish from Sounds Like These
As part of ‘My 4 Day Week’ campaign we caught up with Theo Krish, a Partner at Sounds Like These. This creative audio company in London works with big-name clients to offer music composition, sound design and audio post production services. We asked Theo how a 4-day week works for him.
What does a 4 day week mean to you?
Q: What’s the best thing about working for a four day week company?
A: Lower stress and better flexibility!
Q: How does working four days a week effect your productivity/ time management?
A: It’s forced us to manage our time better, have shorter meetings, and be more strict with time management in general. This means cutting out the ‘faff’ of each day, which speeds up productivity.
Q: How do you spend your extra day-off?
A: I usually go skateboarding or make music (we run a music studio but rarely get the time to work on our own music, so Wednesdays are perfect for that!)
Q: Have you noticed any mental or physical health benefits to working a four day week?
A: Everyone is more relaxed and able to adapt to stressful situations when they arise
Q: How do people respond when you tell them you work a four day week?
A: Most people say, ‘Sounds great but it would never work for our organisation because…’
Q: Would you ever go back to a five day week job?
A: Nope
How does a four day week impact Sounds Like These?
Q: What were the deciding factors in becoming a four day week company?
A: We wanted to reduce risk of stress and burnout. Preventative care rather than reactive care once things have already boiled over.
Q: What do you think are the main benefits of a four day week to your staff?
A: Everyone is happier, and our employees are more likely to stick around long term, since they won’t get a better deal elsewhere! ha.
Q: What have been the benefits of operating a four day week to the company?
A: Profit is most definitely up, and everyone has become more productive by taking on board the learnings from the 4day week campaign.
Q: Has a four day week helped the company become greener and more energy efficient?
A: Hasn’t changed us specifically in that way as of yet, but something we are always thinking about.
Q: What is the structure of your four day week?
A: We are closed on Wednesdays. As a small team (5 people) we decided it was more important for everyone to be off on the same day, so as to avoid having split teams or a ‘ghost office’ vibe during the week.
Q: Given your experience in making this happen, is there any specific advice you would give to other companies also considering the viability of moving to a 4 day week?
A: Give it a trial run before assuming it could never work for your organisation!
If you want to read about how a four day week works for other company’s, check out our blog with Deana Marwa from Think Productive.