Today the New York headquarters of Grey announced a new “reduced work week” option for its employees.
In short, staffers who choose to opt in can work four day weeks in exchange for a 15 percent pay cut.
According to an internal memo sent to all staff today, this offering compliments the company’s existing Flex arrangements that allow employees to work from home or rearrange their hours to better fit with their personal and family lives.
Before you all freak out, we’re told that this shift came about due to employee demand.
Grey also claims it isn’t about saving money. While the agency did part with a small percentage of staff in January, it has won several major accounts over the past year including Walgreen’s, Applebee’s and Revlon.
A spokesperson said, “We think it’s a very positive work/life balance initiative.”
Here’s the memo from this morning:
Hello Grey NY,
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new Reduced Workweek Program.
The demands of balancing professional and personal responsibilities are a concern we often hear from our employees. To address this, we are offering a reduced workweek program that allows employees to work 4 days per week for 85% of their full-time salary. The program is designed to benefit employees and Grey. It gives employees flexibility and more free time to help balance work and personal demands while it allows Grey to structure and operate in a more flexible, agile, and efficient manner as we reimagine our agency for the future.
This program is a separate benefit from our FlexPlace (Work from Home) and FlexTime arrangements which will remain in place — however FlexPlace (Work from Home) will now only be offered on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
My Morning Zone, our new program to provide employees with time to be inspired will also remain in place for full-time employees working a 5-day workweek.
If you are interested in participating please speak to your manager.