We offer our employees the possibility to try out working 80% weekly hours with new special terms. Our hypothesis is that productivity and creativity won’t decrease as much as the time spent working, and therefore we will pay a 90% salary. The aim is to increase work wellbeing and support better work-life balance.

“We at Fingersoft understand that we are all different, going through different phases in life. For some, working eight hours every day is a good fit, but for some of us balancing work and personal life is better achieved with reduced working hours. However, for many of us the decrease in salary that comes with it has felt like a dealbreaker. We strongly believe that, particularly for people working in a creative industry, having more time for recovery will increase the relative value of their input and prevent burnout. This is why we want to offer anyone wanting to work 80% hours during this six-month experiment 90% of their full salary. Based on the results of this trial we will decide if this model becomes a permanent practice for us,” Fingersoft CEO Jaakko Kylmäoja explains.

According to a recent survey by the GDC (2021 State of the Game Industry Report), nearly half of game devs still work more than 40 hours per week. Here at Fingersoft, crunch has long been a foreign concept and work wellbeing is taken seriously.

In practice, our employees interested in the option of reduced working hours can now choose whether they would like to work six hours a day or four days a week. Flexible hours and remote work remain also available for more flexibility. The experiment will last six months, but if the results are good, the model can be permanently adopted. Working part-time has been available before, but not with higher pay.

“Our office atmosphere is relaxed and easy-going and we try to improve our people’s wellbeing in many ways. The first reactions to this new trial have been really positive and a vast number of people have signed up from various teams and positions. All employees will be eligible to participate in the trial regardless of the job description,” Kylmäoja says.

The concept of a four-day workweek has been a trending topic in recent years and companies have experimented with it with good results. We will report on our learnings after the six-month trial is complete so stay tuned!