Introduction
In today’s fast-changing world, digital leaders find it tough to keep their engineering teams up-to-date.
It’s important to upskill and link learning to what matters to our partners and customers.
Gartner found that just 44% of IT workers were given guidance by their employers on improving their job skills.
This highlights a chance for employers to help employees know which skills to focus on for business development.
This is why we at Axelerant, a 200+ digital agency, introduced the 35-Hour Work Week. The remaining five hours of our team member’s workweek are dedicated to their self-development activities.
When More Is Less: 40 Hours 👎
Research from Harvard Business Review, “Long Hours Backfire for People and for Companies,” found that working too much for too long makes you less productive.
When you work long hours, like more than 40 hours a week, you start to get tired and have trouble thinking, being creative, and solving problems. It's like trying to run a race when you're already spent, and you won't do your best.
The idea of "work smart, not hard" means it's better to be efficient and effective rather than just doing a lot of work.
This concept is supported by research from experts like Clayton Christensen, known for his work on disruptive innovation.
It’s important to remember that the 40-hour work week isn’t a global norm. In fact, the differences between countries are significant:
In the Netherlands, people work fewer hours than in other countries—up to nine hours of difference compared to the United States. There are laws on the books there that ensure Dutch citizens aren’t working more than 40 hours a week.
In Denmark, people work 35 hours a week and have been placed in the top 10 on the World Happiness Report for eight years straight. The work-life balance of a Danish lifestyle is a major selling point for immigration to Denmark.
When Less Is More: 35 Hours 👍
Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones of Happiness, studied 20 million people globally through the Sharecare Well-Being Index for work-life balance insights.
He said, “When it comes to your work, try to work part-time, 30–35 hours a week on average,”. Others have supported and tested this perspective.
What other benefits have been cited by businesses and team members worldwide?
Higher Productivity:
A shorter workweek results in more time for mental rest, and context switching, which is crucial for optimal cognitive performance and creativity.
A Research Too Much and Lose It? The Effect of Working Hours on Cognitive Ability suggests that individuals aged 40 and above reach their highest overall productivity when working 25-30 hours per week.
Increased Efficiency:
A company in New Zealand, Perpetual Guardian, tried something new for eight weeks. They gave their 200 workers an extra day off each week.
Everyone still got paid the same and were under the same work conditions.
The outcome was impressive. Workers were reportedly 20% more productive and very happy with the change. The boss, Andrew Barnes, has gone on record calling the experiment an “unmitigated success” on the print.
Higher Employee Satisfaction:
One of the primary benefits of a shorter workweek is improving work-life balance.
Research published on Long Hours' Effects on Work-Life Balance and Satisfaction proves how long hours at work can make you stressed and reduce your work-life balance.
Team Building:
Shorter workweeks help teams work closely and bond better as they have more time for collaborative projects.
Quality time matters more than quantity. Shorter hours boost teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving, strengthening team relationships.
Improved Productivity:
According to the report Going Public: Iceland’s Journey to a Shorter Working Week, a shorter work week made people feel happier and less stressed, balancing work and home life.
Workers felt more energized and had time for fun activities like exercise and hobbies.
A shorter workweek helps people work better by focusing more and working efficiently.
Companies benefit from optimizing work hours to use employees' energy and creativity better.
Our Approach 🧭 - How Are We Implementing The 35-Hour Workweek:
A company needs happy employees, not just employees working long hours, but those with enthusiasm for personal growth.
We work 35 hours per week and the remaining 5 hours are for career development, contribution to open-source communities and engaging with cross-functional departments within the organization self-development activities and organizational engagements.
By engaging in career development and growth activities, individuals have acquired new skills, increased their confidence, and improved their overall well-being, which can lead to increased job satisfaction and success.
Contributing to open-source projects has offered opportunities to collaborate, receive feedback, and hone skills, benefiting both individuals and the broader community through shared knowledge.
Engaging with cross-functional teams across the organization broadens an individual’s overall thinking and they are able to mentor as well as learn from other team members.
On August 3rd, 2023, Hetal Mistry, Director of Global Delivery, took the first step in implementing the 35-hour workweek. She initiated this change by creating a workgroup on Slack.
By Customer Conversation/Survey (Verbal):
We started these conversations verbally with our customers to find out how they would be with the 35-hour billables work.
We wanted to approach this from a benefits and impact perspective and then ask them a few questions to tease out their willingness.
We lead these conversations with the help of our Account Managers.
Our Account Managers were looking for feedback from our customers on this topic. We wanted to highlight the part about providing time and space for the training of our people.
We focused on what this meant to the customer. We ensured that they understood that creating this time and space weekly could help us accomplish their priority with them.
Piyush Poddar, Director Of Sales and Partnerships commented, “We prioritize the well-being of our employees and have a good reputation amongst our clients, partners, and the general public. Although a health-focused culture can enhance our company’s reputation, we do it because it’s the right thing.”
A fully occupied team may not be able to pause and upskill effectively, which would be non-billable time.
We recorded their reactions and, in case they were resistant, asked a couple of questions to get to the root of their concerns.
Ultimately, we were committed to making changes that benefit rather than disrupt.
By Recording Responses:
Based on the answers provided by our customers, we documented their willingness and openness to make changes in our notes.
By understanding their individual preferences and receptiveness to change, we were able to tailor our approach, creating a more meaningful and engaging experience for each customer.
Recognizing the unique preferences of each customer, we crafted customized roll outs and communication strategies that resonated with their specific requirements.
By Email Confirmation/ Contract Update:
We successfully sent the final confirmation following a detailed discussion with the customer, aligning our actions with the insights gathered during the call.
In response to the comprehensive notes taken, we have refined our contracts from 40-hour billable agreements to more tailored 35-hour billable contracts.
This adjustment demonstrates our flexibility and dedication to accommodating the specific requirements of our clients, ultimately enhancing the value we provide.
Our strategic rollouts, organized in batches, have been meticulously tailored to align with the unique needs of each customer.
By Batchwise Rollouts:
We strategically organized the rollouts into batches based on engagement models.
Throughout this process, open communication was maintained with the Project Manager and Account Managers to ensure seamless coordination and alignment.
By Proactive Communication:
We make sure our team aligns with project and customer commitments.
Talking early with customers helps us gain trust and work better together.
This practice has helped us manage an above-average NPS score.
By Flexibility In working:
We make sure our team members work together with project and career managers to plan effectively and align on the best for them, customers, and the project.
These are the possible ways in which one can plan their self-development hours:
This helped us find and implement better ways to align with clients and projects better.
As a result, it led to customer satisfaction and facilitated successful business growth:
By Planning:
The team works with their respective career manager to grow professionally and spends 20 hours monthly on Leapsome for planning personal development.
Axelerant's managers plan Individual Development Plan (IDP) goals to enhance skills gradually.
Here’s what Senior Software Engineer, Iyyappan Matheri has to say, about his Career Manager, Vivek Radhakrishnan.
Immediate Impacts🔥
The 35- hour workweek had impacts on both, our customers and our team at Axelerant.
Impact For Customers:
Improved Morale::
A lot of people would like it if they could work fewer hours for the same pay. But what's even better is that having fewer work hours can lead to more happiness and passion for work.
This is because you'll have more time to do things that are important to you, which can greatly improve your work-life balance.
With extra time on your hands, you can spend more time with your family, do fun outdoor activities, or work on personal projects.
Some people might choose to learn a new skill, like playing a musical instrument or learning a new language. These are things that might take a lot of time and effort, but they can be really rewarding
Increased Health Benefits:
A well-known global insurance advisory firm, Willis Towers Watson, recently conducted research and found that stress is the biggest risk to employees' health worldwide, except for the Asia Pacific region.
When people work long hours and experience stress, they are less productive, which is called "diminishing returns."
A report from 2017 showed that if people have poor health, they miss work more often (20%) and are less productive when they do work (50%).
Therefore, if companies focus more on their employees' well-being and work-life balance, it could help reduce stress levels and improve overall health.
Higher productivity:
In a study by MetLife in 2017, it was found that employers in the UAE are focusing on improving productivity the most, with 74% of companies aiming for this in the next few years.
Shorter working days can help with this goal. Employers are realizing they play a role in their employees' health and well-being.
This shift is beneficial as it helps in attracting top talent and boosting productivity.
By improving staff morale, happiness, and health, companies can see a rise in productivity. This can happen by reducing absenteeism, increasing engagement, ensuring worker satisfaction, and lowering healthcare costs.
Impact For Axelerant:
At Axelerant, our team members recognized us as one of the Great Place to Work Certified Feb 2024 - Feb 2025.
When we implemented the 35 Hour Work Week, we observed the following impacts:
Skilled Team:
We encourage Career Development through training, tests, coaching, and mentorship calls with Managers and Peers.
Axelerant QA Analyst, Ankush Jain says, ”Thanks to Axelerant for providing the 35-hour work week which helped me focus on my learnings. Also, continuous support and help from the Axelerant Team motivated me to continue my learnings.”
Axelerant Senior Software Engineer, Mohit Bansal says, “I would like to thank Axelerant for this new 35-hour work culture. This helped me in clearing the Acquia Certified Back End Specialist - Drupal 10 exam.”
In Axelerant, we celebrate Certifications with enthusiasm, and the additional 20 hours a month makes this possible.
After Axelerant switched to a 35-hour work week, nearly 50% of their team members, around 100 people, earned certifications.
These certifications often help the team meet global testing standards at a career and project level.
We strongly believe in creating future leaders through Leadership Training:
Fosters Knowledge Sharing And Open Source Community Contributions:
Our team engages in knowledge-sharing activities like webinars, blog writing, code contributions, and event participation.
When a webinar topic is approved, we create and share it for social interaction.
“More people are presenting these sessions, in Live Webinar than ever”, said, Hetal Mistry, Director of Global Delivery at Axelerant.
While Axelerant Technical Program Manager, Kalaiselvan Swamy believes more time to develop helpful documentation is the key to team success and increased operational efficiency among team members.
Happier Team By Better Onboarding And Engagement:
Our team helps new members feel welcome with relevant internal engagements.
We use buddy donut calls, and virtual meetups for onboarding.
This photo is from our recent dinner event at the #MauticConference in India.
Organizational Level Support Activities
For Axelerant Senior Software Engineer, Amol Palhade, more time for support activities means helping his teammates with bugs.
Connect with us to learn more
We started this journey in January of 2024. While the initial signs are promising, and we’re confident in the direction we’ve taken as a team, this is a new development for us. We will continue to monitor customer and team member sentiments as the months go on, and we’ll be sharing our learnings openly along the way.
If you're curious about this topic from an agency operations or customer experience perspective, feel free to connect with our Director Of Delivery, Hetal Mistry, who would happily answer your questions about how we deliver differently at Axelerant.
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