You may have heard of the four-day work week experiment, in which employees work only four of the traditional five work days, but with the same pay and the expectation that their performance will remain the same. This initiative has been rolled out in several Western countries, and a very successful six-month trial was recently completed in the UK. Companies have shown an increase in productivity and greater interest from employees, and they themselves emphasize that this has improved their quality of life. However, variables such as profits, additional pressure on employees due to higher daily workloads and the need to be available to customers during all standard business hours remain a concern, as he points out in a related publication by the American news network. CNNBC. Sam Franklin, chief executive of tech company Otta, adds that the one-full-day reduction in work hours was a big step, as work hours are being cut by 20%. “Going from 100% of the time to 80% of the time, I felt like I could be seriously upset,” he told CNBC Make It. Perhaps, however, there is an alternative and the introduction of a two-week nine-day period. In essence, this means that out of 14 calendar days, nine are working and five are days off. Every second week, workers have an extra day off, and often it’s Friday. Some companies ask their employees to work longer hours on weekdays to get extra days off, others claim it doesn’t matter to them as long as their productivity stays consistent.

After 4 working days a week, some try the model for 9 working days, 5 days off in 14 days.

Otta is one of several companies testing this workflow, realizing that if it doesn’t work, moving to a four-day week might eventually be an option. According to those who have tried, many of the benefits are similar to those of the four-day week. This includes ensuring that productivity does not change, that there is satisfaction on the part of employees, while achieving a better work-life balance. Sam Franklin also noted that the problem arose during the hiring process. “It’s one of the things that everyone mentions. To the question “why do you want to work at Otta?” answer: “I read about the new scheme of work, I like the way you think, and I always wanted to do this.” And, as Ben Branson-Gately, founder of HR software company Charlie HR, adds, “The reason I’m really nine days ahead and not four is because Thursday doesn’t become the new Friday,” says He. Alternating four- and five-day weeks also creates a better balance, he finally added, although this particular model cannot be applied horizontally across all industries and their businesses.