How we offer our team a 4 day week at PhantomBuster

The world at work as we knew it has been transformed in the past two years. One raging pandemic later, some innovative leaders and companies have decided that doing things differently is the way forward. At PhantomBuster, we are leading this charge, with a 4 day, 35-hour working week for our team.

Why do we offer a 4 day week?

For us, people are at the core of our success. During the period that we’ve scaled PhantomBuster from a team of 0 to 55, we’ve wanted to offer our talent a schedule that reflects our values and culture. As a remote first company, we decided to offer the additional flexibility of a 4 day work week for everyone.

As a startup tech company, we know that work can be incredibly rewarding but that things move faster and rely on teamwork to move mountains. We’ve always strived to offer our team a balance between their personal and professional lives so that everyone can bring their best self to work. Having the time to focus on hobbies, sports, family and friends allow everyone to feel good. It also means we have a vibrant and energized team when the work day starts. It is a win-win for everyone.

What does the 4 day week mean for our team?

Our team members can opt to work a 4 or 5 day working week, depending on their preferences. If you opt for a 4 day working week at PhantomBuster, you work 4 longer days. Typically this means a 9 hour day during this working rhythm.

For those who prefer to work a 5 day week, these team members can enjoy a shorter working day of 7 hours during the week, which offers its own flexibility.

What we like to do, is offer that choice and flexibility to each person to make that decision for themselves.

Team members who make the switch have a few weeks to try on this glass slipper before the carriage pulls up. We also check in with newly switched team members to ensure that their schedule adjustment is manageable and is what they expected. Clear communication between everyone involved and our People team makes the process smooth and straightforward for everyone involved.

We believe that you can scale a startup on a four-day working week without compromising productivity. We tried and we adopted it. But don’t just take our word for it. Check out some testimonials from our amazing PhantomBuster team.

In their own words:

Alex

Product Manager

Having 3 days to my weekend means I’m really able to unwind from a week of working. I love having some time to myself to do this before spending time with my friends. Fridays are now the perfect day for (long) lazy mornings with multiple cups of tea (Irish breakfast tea, milk and 1.5 sugars) and getting some personal admin done, or just sitting with a book or my guitar.

As an Irish girl living in Paris, I also love getting out and about around the city on a weekday and making the most of a calmer city. On top of that, living in such a beautiful country that’s not my own and being a bit of an adventurer at heart means I want to explore as many different corners of France as possible — and having a 3-day weekend makes that far easier to do!

So far, I’ve used my time to visit places like Brittany, Champagne, and Île de Ré, and tasted a ton of delicious food and wine along the way. So really, now that I’m used to getting all my work done in 4 days, I couldn’t imagine my week any other way.

Aniss

Data analyst

As a Data Analyst, I was glad to be offered the opportunity to work four days a week without any drawbacks, knowing that this is not common, especially in France.

To fit my work tasks into four days, I needed to be way more organized, plan my days in advance, and budget time for breaks to stay productive. I’m keen to balance work and my downtime to pace my working week at a comfortable rate.

On a 4-day week, it is amazing to be able to always to enjoy a long weekend. I use that time to travel, discover new places, and take a break from city living. those three days allow me to go further and not hurry while visiting wonderful places. When I stay in Paris, I usually use my extra day to work on my projects, learn new skills, or do general life maintenance.

This allows me to have the rest of my weekend dedicated to recharging my batteries with my friends and family, enjoying good food, going to the movies or just hanging out. In short, this is a great addition to my life. I hope that more companies will offer this in the future!

Georges

Lead Software Engineer

I enjoy working a 4 day week as I strike a solid balance between work and play. On Fridays, I can catch up with life admin like restocking my fridge, cleaning, and taking care of some DIY and actual admin. It is usually much calmer than on Saturdays to hit the shops and get everything done for the week ahead.

Then I like to maximize my Saturdays and Sundays to hike, surf, and fully chill. Sometimes my girlfriend and I take off for the whole weekend to visit our families in Montpellier and Paris. Other times we fully disconnect and travel to Spain or the mountains. It is cheaper and less stressful to travel on Fridays, which is a nice perk.

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