A company tests a four‑day week, finds success, then improves: employees can work seven days a week

The debate over shorter workweeks continues to gain momentum across Europe as governments and businesses explore new ways to improve work-life balance and productivity. In Spain, a proposal to reduce the standard workweek to 37.5 hours continues to spark political and business debate, while private companies experiment with alternative models.

Against this backdrop, a small British consulting firm called Lumen has decided to go beyond the increasingly popular four-day workweek and adopt an even more flexible system. Employees are allowed to work any day of the week, including all seven days, with complete freedom to decide when those hours are completed.

A revolutionary model

Lumen, an SEO consulting firm based in Cardiff, Wales, decided to rethink its organizational structure after seeing positive results from its four-day workweek experiment. Led by Aled Nelmes, the company abandoned the traditional work schedule and implemented a 32-hour workweek with no fixed hours and no requirement to spread those hours across a specific number of days.

In practice, employees are free to organize their schedules however they choose, as long as they meet performance expectations and successfully complete their projects.

According to the company’s director, requiring employees to work on specific days is based on a flawed assumption about how productivity is achieved. Under the current system, Lumen employees distribute their 32 hours throughout the week according to their own preferences, including weekends if they choose.

Aside from a handful of team meetings, there are no set start or end times. The company places responsibility directly in the hands of employees, who manage their schedules based on their personal and professional needs.

For Lumen’s CEO, the system requires a very specific type of employee. Team members must be self-disciplined, focused, autonomous, proactive, and capable of organizing their work without constant supervision.

Self-regulating work routines

One of the company’s biggest surprises was discovering that most employees made only minor changes to their work habits. Many continued to follow relatively conventional schedules, maintaining routines similar to their previous ones while making small adjustments to better accommodate personal commitments.

Employees primarily use the flexibility to attend medical appointments, exercise, spend time with their children, or handle family responsibilities, making up those hours later in the week.

Some examples demonstrate just how adaptable the system can be. According to Nelmes, one employee reorganizes her schedule based on weather conditions or personal circumstances. At times, she chooses to work on Sundays because she finds them quieter and less disruptive, allowing her to concentrate more effectively.

The company argues that this model improves work-life balance, reduces expenses, and enhances job performance. However, it acknowledges that the approach is not suitable for every industry. It works best in goal-oriented roles that can be performed remotely, while jobs requiring a constant physical presence may find it much more difficult to implement.

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