natureOffice Journal
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Attitude & Debate
23 October 2026
6 min read
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Thoughts of
natureOffice Editorial Team
Days off are something special at PROJECT TOGO too. For example, with a trip to the beach in Lomé – and an unexpected encounter. 🐢
In this post
Thursday afternoon at natureOffice.
Time is more than just working hours
A good decision that takes work
A customer enquiry is still pending. A quote needs to be sent out. Someone needs feedback from a colleague. And then there is that task that was supposed to be finished by Tuesday.
Tomorrow is Friday. And everyone here likes having it off.
We understand that completely. After all, we enjoy our Friday off ourselves. At the same time, that is precisely what makes the four-day week an organisational challenge at times.
Because if everyone wants the same day off, we have to coordinate our work well with one another from Monday to Thursday. That does not always work out straight away. And sometimes Thursday feels suspiciously like a very busy Friday.
Nevertheless, we made a deliberate choice to adopt the four-day week. And we continue to stand by it.
TIME & PERFORMANCE
At natureOffice, we have been working a four-day week since 2023. Behind this lies a core conviction for us: good work is not measured solely by how many days someone sits at their desk.
The four-day week is often spoken about as if employees are being gifted an extra day off. As if it were a reward for exceptionally good performance.
We see it differently.
Time outside work is not an extra that has to be earned first. It is part of a life in which people also have family, friends, interests and commitments alongside their job. And sometimes simply need time to themselves.
How each person uses their Friday off varies. One person cares for relatives, another gets round to things that would otherwise be left to the weekend. Some meet up with friends, while others simply enjoy having a day with no appointments scheduled.
Time is also allowed to just be free.
Four days do not automatically mean less work than five days
That is perhaps the most important insight: a Friday off does not organise the rest of the week on its own.
Clients have questions. Projects continue to run. There are deadlines, coordination meetings, and tasks that cannot always be planned the way we would like.
We therefore constantly have to decide: What is important right now? What can wait? Where does someone need support? And which commitment can we actually keep?
Not every week feels effortless in this process. There are days when a lot piles up. And there are Thursdays when we wonder how we are going to wrap it all up properly.
That is part of the honest story of our four-day week.
At the same time, it would be too simplistic to constantly try to do the same work just faster. If five full days become four overwhelmed ones, the rationale behind the model is lost.
That is why we continually need to review the way we work, and also speak up when things become too much.
COLLABORATION
If everyone likes having their Friday off, we can't simply rely on someone being around.
We need to clarify in advance what should be completed, where a response is still missing, and what information others need. And we need to communicate clearly with clients and partners about when they can expect to hear from us.
That requires planning. Sometimes flexibility, too.
Above all, though, it requires us to talk to one another. The earlier we notice that things are getting tight, the more options we have to find a solution together.
Our working pledge fits right in with this: we aim to say it like it is, keep our word, think proactively, and get stuck in together. That sounds simple. But it's especially during a packed week that its importance truly shows.
Trust works both ways
The four-day week has a lot to do with trust.
We trust that everyone takes their responsibilities seriously and does their bit to ensure our collaboration works. That also includes giving advance notice in good time if something isn't manageable.
And vice versa, it requires the trust that you are actually allowed to say just that.
Because not every delay is a personal failure. Sometimes too much was scheduled at once. Sometimes things have changed. And sometimes a good solution simply takes more time than anticipated.
In that case, it doesn't help much if everyone quietly tries to muddle through somehow. It's better to look together at what's possible now.
The next question
A difficult customer query is not automatically answered better just because someone is available five days a week. And a full diary does not yet indicate whether we have used our time wisely.
What matters to us is that we do good work. That we advise clients reliably, take commitments seriously, and do not simply pass tasks on, but actively think along.
For this, we need time and concentration. And sometimes also the courage to leave out things that involve a lot of effort, but achieve little progress.
We do not always succeed in this. But the four-day week regularly reminds us to ask these questions.
What do other experiences say?
We are not alone in these considerations. Other companies are also exploring how a shorter working week can work.
In a German pilot project in 2024, organisations from various sectors tested a four-day week with reduced working hours. The University of Münster provided scientific monitoring for the project. Among other findings, the results show positive changes in the life satisfaction of participating employees. At the same time, it became clear that companies had to review their processes and repeatedly adjust them during the transition.
A later survey showed that the majority of surveyed companies stuck with reduced working hours. Many of the companies that continued with the model reported a better work-life balance.
That is encouraging. Nevertheless, every company has different preconditions. What works for a consultancy cannot automatically be transferred to a manufacturing facility, a medical practice, or a care home.
Arrange orientation
A quick question in the meantime
01
What is important now?
02
What can wait?
03
Where does someone need support?
04
Which promise can we actually keep?
VERDICT
We would love to say that we have already found the perfect solution for every challenge. But we haven't.
We also have busy weeks, short-notice requests, and Thursdays when quite a few things are still unresolved. And yes: the fact that everyone loves having Friday off doesn't always make coordination any easier.
Even so, we want to take this path. Because time outside of work matters to us. Because we believe that high performance and a four-day week can go hand in hand. And because trust, for us, is more than just a word in a mission statement.
The four-day week isn't a reward. It is a decision.
And like any decision regarding a particular way of working, in daily life it requires attention, good communication, and sometimes the willingness to do things differently than before.