A company from Wales tried the 4-day work week and has now abolished it. Employees can now work 7 days a week.
What kind of company is that? Lumen SEO is a marketing agency from Cardiff (Wales) that specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This means they help their clients optimize their websites so that they are better found on Google.
Lumen SEO was founded by Aled Nelmes, who also leads the company as CEO. Nelmes is regularly active on the social network LinkedIn, providing insights into his approach as the head of the company – such as the thoughts and background behind the introduction of the 4-day work week.
CEO abandons 4-day work week
Why does the CEO find 7 days better? Lumen SEO relied on the 4-day work week until last month. However, a month ago, Nelmes explained in a post on LinkedIn that he would abandon the 4-day work week and instead shift the company to a kind of 7-day model.
Instead of working on four fixed days, the company has now agreed on a week from Monday to Sunday, where each employee must complete a total of 32 hours per week. When, where, and how the individual employees fulfill these 32 hours is left up to them.
So employees could work 8 hours on 4 individually selected days, or about 6 hours one day, and then 10 hours the next. Those who wish can also stretch their 32 hours over 5 days, working about 6.4 hours per day.
Why this change? In his post, Nelmes explains that the switch has several reasons, including greater flexibility, as it helps employees perform better. Other reasons include women’s menstruation and the weather. Childcare is also an important reason. This makes the company more attractive as an employer for mothers and fathers.
Does it work? In another post on LinkedIn, Nelmes explains what he thinks is necessary for this principle to work for a company.
He is convinced that this way of working is special and therefore requires special people. There have been some employees that the company had to let go. Even though there weren’t any dismissals, these former employees were not suited for the 32-hour work week.
His employees therefore need to work well independently and be able to assert themselves, as time is “limited and therefore valuable.” Clear communication is important.
Even though Lumen SEO has now at least temporarily discarded the 4-day work week, it is now being implemented in more and more companies and countries. In Iceland, the 4-day work week started back in 2025 and has since provided some insights: An island shows the world that Generation Z is right – The 4-day work week creates satisfaction and growth
