From early discussions around the creation of Talewind, there was a key value that we wanted to run through our studio: kindness. We believed for this to be fully embedded, we’d have to be a fully remote company who put the wellbeing of staff at the top of our list. However, as we’ve seen post Covid, remote first working isn’t an anomaly these days, with more and more companies choosing to leave the office behind and embrace the flexibility that working from home has to offer. So what else could make us stand out from other studios and offer that extra level of work-life balance to our staff? Enter the four day working week!
There has been much discussion of late around the 4DWW (four day working week), with many studios within the gaming sector looking to adopt the initiative to retain and attract employees. In 2021, we received a gold standard accreditation (permanent 32 hour (or less) four-day week, with a reduction of hours and no loss of pay) from 4DayWeek. We wanted to share our thoughts and learnings on what it’s like to run a fully remote, 4DWW studio in the ever evolving world of gaming.
“The 4 days work week has allowed me to always get enough rest to keep my energy levels high, and remain productive from start to finish.”
Flora, 3D Artist
Why we chose a remote, 4DWW approach
There were many factors behind our choice to embrace the remote first, 4DWW way of work, from finances to job satisfaction, but here are the ones that had the most influence on our decision:
Employee health & wellbeing:
A four-day week can provide our team the time to live happier and more fulfilled lives, allowing time for those non-work parts of life that are often neglected such as rest, life admin & passion projects. This flexible approach to working can have positive effects on both mental and physical health too, giving time for a run before work or a long walk post work that wouldn’t be possible with a commute.
Sustainability:
This is another of our key values at Talewind. We encourage all of our team to practise sustainable habits and what better way to lead by example as a company than to be remote first and work 4 days a week. There’s no commuting (studies found that staying home four days a week can reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions by around 10%.), we avoid the waste that comes with an office (paper, plastic, etc) and reduce our carbon footprint both as a studio and as individuals.
Attracting diverse talent:
Social mobility is a big issue in the gaming sector, with many people from disadvantaged backgrounds facing multiple barriers to get into the industry – location being one of them. By ditching the office and setting up a fully remote studio, we have been able to employ exceptional talent from all over the UK – from Dundee to Plymouth, Llanelli to Leeds. Not everyone can afford to move to big cities such as London or Manchester to kick start their careers in games so our remote first set up has opened doors that would not have been possible if we were in office or hybrid.
“No commute is a winner! I can use the time I would spend on commuting to catch up on sleep, head to the gym or socialise with friends.”
Basia, Senior 2D Artist
How it works for our studio
So, I hear you ask, did our hopes and visions come to fruition? We’d like to think so! Here are some of the improvements we’ve noticed in the past 2 years:
Increased productivity: As we have less time in the week to play with, we’ve had to become hyper focused on what we need to achieve when it comes to our game production. There is no time for bureaucracy! With a shorter timeframe to complete tasks, our employees have become more focused and motivated to make the most of their working hours.
Better work-life balance: This has been a consistent bit of feedback in our quarterly check-ins with the team. Our flexible approach to working has allowed them much more time to spend with family & friends and do the things that make them happy. Sunday night dread is a thing of the past thanks to a 4DWW!
Reduced absenteeism: Because our team has an improved work-life balance and that extra time to recharge at the end of the week, their overall health (both physical and mental) has benefitted. Symptoms often associated with long working week’s such as anxiety, stress, fatigue and burnout are less prevalent in our studio and, when people do have to take time out for illness, we’ve noticed that the periods they take off are shorter.
Retention: It’s often said that organisations which prioritise employee wellbeing are often seen as more attractive places to work. Our remote first, 4DWW is a compelling perk for both potential hires and those within the studio, offering flexibility that is hard to come by elsewhere in the industry right now.
More autonomy: By working independently for the majority of the week, our team has learnt important personal development skills such as time management, self discipline and problem solving which they may not have picked up so quickly in an office environment.
“I’ve never worked somewhere which offers such a great work-life balance. By working from home, I can head for a swim in the morning which sets me up great both mentally and physically for the day. And the extra day off on a Friday makes all of the difference to my weekends – Sunday night dread is no longer a thing for me!”
Bronwen, Studio Operations Manager
Ground rules for success
If you’re looking to implement a 4 day working week into your remote (or hybrid) studio, we’d definitely recommend sticking to the following guidelines to ensure its success:
Say no to crunch. We all know that crunch can have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of our teams – coding until the early hours or drawing for endless periods of time is not conducive to a happy work-life balance! Even though we have one less working day in the week, we do not expect our staff to work overtime and actively discourage it. After all, what’s the point in a 4 day week if you’re still working 45+ hours?
Communication is key. Lack of communication from leadership and managers (or even just within teams) can be a pitfall when working from home. We’ve found that over-communication is key – using multiple channels to share all updates and announcements (multiple times) so that the team feels in the loop and well informed.
Regular touch points. When working remotely, those natural conversations you have in the office can be lost so it’s super important to book in regular touchpoints with the team – for both social connection and open communication. At Talewind, we kick off the week with a ‘how was your weekend’ meeting, with team leads summarising their priorities for the week ahead. We have daily standups and end the week with ‘Tale-wins’, where the team shares a highlight from their week.
Embrace collaborative working tools. Slack, Miro, Gathertown, Trello, Notion – the list goes on! Make sure that you research the tools that will work best for your team and, once implemented, that the team uses them correctly and consistently. Planning is key when you’ve got less time in the week and less face to face interaction, so get organised!
Be in sync. At Talewind, we all work Monday-Thursday, with a no-work Friday extending the usual weekend. If it’s possible for everyone at your studio to take the same day off, we highly recommend this. Not only does it avoid teammates messaging you on your ‘off day’, but it allows you to fully switch off knowing that all of your colleagues are away from their desks that day too.
“I’ve gained a whole day to myself. It gives me the ability to plan my weekend better, space out chores more evenly and allow more time to rest. I can now take part in activities I would struggle to book in if I was working a 5 day week!”
Basia, Senior 2D Artist
As with most new ways of working, it’s not all been smooth sailing and there have definitely been some bumps in the road as we find our feet! We’re working hard at fostering a great culture at Talewind but it can be tricky to figure out the right number of film nights or gaming sessions to run so that connections feel organic and not forced. Our first few in person meetups were centred around game jams or project work, but we’ve now realised that the time we have together in person is precious so these meetups are now focused solely on socialising and getting to know one another better through fun activities!
We’ve also improved massively in our planning processes since we first started out. Working just 32 hours a week, we need to be as efficient as possible with our time so if an hour meeting can be replaced with a 30 min Slack huddle, we definitely encourage this within our team.
It’s important to note that implementing a 4DWW requires careful planning, communication, and coordination to ensure that productivity and services are not compromised. But we have no regrets about embracing the remote, 4DWW life here at Talewind and as far as we’re concerned, there’s no looking back.
If you’re looking to move to a remote first or 4DWW (or both like us!), we hope you’ve found this article useful. We’re always open to talk more about our experiences so please get in touch if you’d like to chat further.
We also run a HR / Ops Network for the games industry, sharing knowledge and best practices with over 100 professionals in similar roles. If you’d like to join the group and find out more, please reach out to bronwen.ellis@talewind.co.uk
Bronwen Ellis (she/her)
Studio Operations Manager @ Talewind
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