Baltimore, February 23, 2023 – Awin and ShareASale today share the results of their global Flexi-Week pilot. After an 18-month trial, the Awin Group, which employs over 1,300 people in 17 offices around the world, has moved all staff to a flexible workweek indefinitely. The news comes on the heels of the 4-Day Week UK pilot program, which announced 56 of 61 companies extending the four-day week trial, with 18 making it a permanent installment.
As part of the Awin Group’s people-centric approach to how it operates, employees are able to take one day off per week, working four full days, or they can choose to split the fifth day, working three full days and two half days. All staff continues to receive their full salary, with Awin and ShareASale’s high standard of partner and client service level agreements maintained.
When evaluating the permanent implementation of Flexi-Week from a business performance perspective, the Awin Group’s gross profit grew by 13% on average annually from 2019 to 2022, and NPS scores improved by an astounding 20.7 points. In addition, regrettable employee turnover decreased by 33% and sick leave days decreased by 21%. As part of this evaluation, Awin and ShareASale polled their employees to gauge the benefit of the trial. Findings indicated that:
- 94% of respondents feel their work-life balance has improved, and more than 90% feel they now have time to do the things they did not before;
- 92% of staff are more productive at work, and say that the Flexi-Week model has improved their health and wellbeing;
- 70% of respondents feel the quality of their work has improved, and that they are less stressed at work;
- 85% of staff say that Flexi-Week plays a significant role in their decision to stay at Awin and ShareASale
In January 2021, amid working shifts brought about by the pandemic and remote work, the Awin Group’s leadership team began to recognize a connection between flexibility and productivity. It became abundantly clear that the traditional working model no longer fit within the structure of life during lockdown. As a response, Awin and ShareASale employees were granted more flexibility and trust to do their jobs during the hours that worked best for them – within the reasonable boundaries of team collaboration and customer service – to help cope with the stress and anxiety many were experiencing. Positive results were noticed almost immediately. As Awin Group employees responded to the increased flexibility, partners and customers benefited from noticeably improved service. This led to Awin and ShareASale being voted #1 Best CPS Network in North America by mThink Blue Book 2022, as well as Awin being voted Best Affiliate Network at the 2022 Global Performance Marketing Awards.
“What started initially as a six-month trial has proven to be one of the most transformative initiatives we’ve seen in the history of the company,” said Adam Ross, CEO of Awin. “Over the course of the last year and a half, we have not only seen a tremendous increase in employee wellness and wellbeing, but concurrently, our customer service and relations, as well as talent relations and retention, have also improved. Our team members are our most important asset, and by emphasizing their wellbeing we have simultaneously improved the way we show up for customers across the board. The Flexi-Week has proven that employee wellness and customer satisfaction do not have to be mutually exclusive, and, in fact, are quite symbiotic.”
