Eidos Montreal announces move to four-day work week

Eidos Montreal, the Square Enix studio behind the likes of Shadow of the Tomb Raider and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy game, has announced it's switching to a four-day working week - a move it hopes will "increase the productivity and well-being of our employees."

Announcing the initiative on its on its website, Eidos Montreal explained it would begin closing its Montreal and Sherbrooke studios each Fridays within the next few weeks - shifting its teams from the current 40-hour weekly work schedule to 32 hours "without changing the working conditions currently in place nor the salaries of employees".

"The idea is not to condense the working hours into four days, but rather to review our ways of doing things and our quality time invested, with the aim of working better", explained Eidos Montreal head of studio David Anfossi of the move, with the ultimate goal being to "reduce the time at work, but increase the quality of this time invested", boosting the "productivity and well-being of our employees" along the way.

"With the various pilot projects all over the world, whether in Iceland, in the civil service or other examples of companies operating in technology industries, the results are conclusive," added Anfossi. "We are convinced that this renewed management of working time will help cultivate the creativity and motivation of the teams, and become a real driver of innovation and performance."

The news follows a similar move by Bugsnax developer Young Horses, which recently announced it would be permanently transitioning to a four-day work week following a successful trial over the summer, as part of its continuing efforts to foster "a healthy, creatively fulfilling business that supports [the team's] lifestyles".