Marketing boss takes flexi-time to new level

A BUSINESS owner in Cardiff has flipped the nine-to-five norm on its head in favour of a completely flexible working week. Aled Nelmes, who owns marketing agency Lumen SEO, lets his staff work whenever and wherever they want in an effort to "harmonise work and life".

- BRYANA FRANCIS

Aled has questioned many of the everyday routines most of us follow without thinking twice about. He’s now consciously gone against the norm in search of a more efficient, staff-friendly way of working. Aled’s employees have paid breaks, can work from wherever they want, and partake in a variety of team bonding activities.

After a successful switch to a four-day working week two years ago Aled decided to go one step further and ditch certain days and times completely. At Lumen SEO they now have a completely flexible 32-hour working week to help fit around hobbies, childcare, traffic, holidays, and hormones.

When they went down to four days a week, initially as a three-month trial, they cut the week by four hours overall so they worked four nine-hour days, either eight until five or nine till six. Aled said in those two years the “had our best growth years”.

"The four-day week was so successful for its increase in flexibility, autonomy, and trust that I wanted to see how we could get more flexibility out of it. I decided to take it to a new extreme where people can plan their weeks how they like them.”

Aled said it was his “inherent curiosity into human performance” which sparked his interest in what the best way for people to work is.