B1 reading: A four-day working week

1 When the design company Pine Street told its forty staff that they could work four days a week for the same pay, many of them didn't believe it. "I thought there was a catch," says Marta, a project manager. "I was sure we would have to work twelve hours a day." But there wasn't a catch. Since last March, everyone at Pine Street has worked from Monday to Thursday, eight hours a day.

2 The idea came from the company's director, Paul. He had noticed that his staff were often tired and that many of them took days off because of stress. "People were at their desks for five days, but they weren't really working for five days," he says. "We lost a lot of time in long meetings and on emails that nobody needed."

3 To make the change work, the company had to find time. Meetings now last a maximum of thirty minutes, and on Tuesday and Thursday mornings nobody is allowed to send emails to colleagues. Staff call these mornings "quiet time", and they use them for work that needs concentration.

4 The results after six months surprised even Paul. The company finished as many projects as before, and customers were just as happy. Fewer people were off sick, and two designers who had planned to leave decided to stay. "It's hard to find good designers," Paul says, "so that alone was worth it."

5 Not everything has been easy. Some customers expected an answer on Fridays, so now one person in each team checks emails for an hour on Friday mornings. They take a different day off instead. Marta also admits that Thursdays can be stressful. "You try to finish everything before the weekend, so the last day is very busy."

6 Still, nobody wants to go back. Marta uses her Fridays to take her son to school and to go swimming. "I have the same job and the same money," she says, "but I have my life back."