Hutch Games Hope To Make The Case For A Change To A Four-Day Work Week
Since the pandemic began, work has changed for many. But the flexible and remote working conditions that were put in place have accelerated a process that was already occurring. Increasingly, more and more companies are willing to experiment with different working schedules and styles.
And why not? The five-day working week – Monday to Friday, eight-hour shifts – is a relatively recent invention, after all, designed by factory and mill owners in the early 20th century to standardise production. But in the knowledge economy of the 21st century, might our minds work better on a different schedule?
Related: Interview: Hardspace Developers Talk Crunch, Burn Out, And The Future Of Game Industry Unions
Hutch Games recently made headlines as a participating company in a trial being led by academics at Oxford and Cambridge university, Boston College in the US and the thinktank Autonomy.
A British mobile games developer, with offices in London and Scotland, Hutch specialises in racing strategy titles such as F1 Manager, Rebel Racing and Top Drives. The 120 employees of Hutch will join telecoms firm Yo Telecom and training company MBL Seminars in shifting from a 40-hour five-day workweek to a four-day, 32-hour workweek. The trial is being overseen by campaign group 4 Day Week Global.
In the games industry reports of crunch have blighted numerous studios, so the decision to commit not only to anti-crunch but to a reduction in overall working hours is noteworthy.
TheGamer spoke with Shaun Rutland, CEO and co-founder of Hutch Games, and Charmaine Clavier-St John, its Head of People, to chat about their motivations behind the trial.
SR - Shaun Rutland - CEO and Co-Founder
CSJ - Charmaine Clavier-St John, Head of People
(Answers have
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