HUTCH ANNOUNCES PARTICIPATION IN 4 DAY WEEK UK PILOT PROGRAMME

The announcement sees the automotive game developer join the pilot with the aim of further improving wellbeing, sustainability and productivity within its global team  

Hutch, the renowned automotive mobile game developer has announced its participation in a six-month trial of a four day working week. The trial, led by 4 Day Week Global, is set to run from June to December 2022 for all Hutch staff across their studios in London, Dundee and Nova Scotia.

Since its inception, Hutch has been a company committed to enabling its team to have the best possible work life balance. Founded by a leadership team who all experienced challenging working conditions at AAA games studios, Hutch sought to build itself with a ‘no-crunch’ culture in mind, with hybrid working as standard.  

The trial of a four day working week this summer is part of an effort to further improve Hutch’s commitment to supporting its staff. The pilot programme sets out with the ambition of  enhancing organisational productivity, sustainability and improving distribution of responsibility for parents and carers, alongside other advantages. This will be an insightful exercise to monitor the sentiment from Hutch’s team, where feedback will be gathered and assessed for objective review throughout the trial. 

Hutch will be part of the pilot coordinated by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the UK think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and researchers at Cambridge University, Boston College and Oxford University.

Shaun Rutland, CEO of Hutch, said “When we started Hutch 10 years ago, enabling our team to have the best possible work life balance was a priority. We’ve had a decade of tweaking the way we work, and we think the four day work week supports our ethos for the future of Hutch. Joining the trial was, naturally, a perfect opportunity to empower Hutch even more. It has the potential to improve productivity and overall employee health, create stronger families and communities, and improve gender equality, to help create a more sustainable work environment.”

Charmaine St John, Head of People at Hutch, said “The 4 Day Week Pilot Programme is a fantastic initiative, and we’re delighted to be involved. It’s an excellent opportunity to offer Hutchies even more flexibility in their work life balance. The scheme will allow us to create a more energised and efficient workforce, as well as having a positive impact on gender equality by enabling a better distribution of caring responsibilities between parents.”