GLOBAL unicorn tech company Signifyd, whose R&D centre is headquartered in Belfast, is implementing a four-day work week to provide its predominantly remote workforce with a more flexible work-life balance.
It follows months of trialling the concept, in which productivity did not suffer, and employees expressed broad support for the initiative, both of which were key in adopting the arrangement permanently.
And now Signifyd - which is headquartered in San Jose and operates from other locations in Denver, New York, Mexico City and London - is urging calling on other tech companies to follow suit, given that the sector has experienced a high level of employee burnout and exhaustion.
“While company leaders had long discussed the move, the unique pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic played a key role in focusing attention on this change,” Signifyd's senior vice president of people operations Emily Mikailli said.
“When employees are literally working in the same place where they’re supposed to play and relax, burnout just becomes a very real possibility, and four-day work-weeks have proven to help with that.
“Our business is based on the power of data. It wouldn’t make much sense to ignore the data in this case, especially when it concerns an issue that is vital to our employees’ well-being.”
Chief executive Raj Ramanand added: “We’re proud to be among the leaders in this movement to think more deeply about the initiatives we chose to work on so that we are all working fewer, but more meaningful hours.
“Focusing intelligently on what we choose to prioritize makes us more efficient and more fulfilled as people.
“We believe in the not-so-distant future, the four-day work-week will be table stakes for companies looking to hire the most capable, creative and committed candidates in the market. We’re happy to be showing others the way and we’ll continue to innovate in the areas of work-life and the workplace.”
