What We're Doing with Company Culture: 4 Day Work Weeks, Office Dogs, & Beer

Before you read, this is a sponsored article and I have no issue saying that. I've always been super selective with anything influencer related because my priority is, and always will be, bringing value to all of you. :)

Friday’s in the Urban Misfit Ventures office are creative days. Which, as a creative company, just means “do whatever you want kind of day.” So I want to walk you through what my Friday’s look like now since implementing our “creative” days. Because our company productivity has skyrocketed.

I’m terrible at following rules. But the four day work week is something my team wanted to implement, so I promised that I would give it a try so long as all of our work is being completed. And for those that want to work on the weekend that is totally fine. So here’s what my Friday’s look like since we’ve adopted a very loose 4 day work week as a company.

8:00 am - 11:00 am

At 8am I get a text from Izzy Lugo that usually looks something like this, “please tell me you brought video games into the office?” For those of you that don’t know, I’m an avid gamer and so are a handful of my co-workers. I did bring video games today. I also brought beer. ??

11:01 am - 2:00 pm

Around this time I’m usually snuggled up with my pup, tucked away in a corner of our office, so I can get away and answer emails.

I told you I wasn’t too great at following rules. ?????♂?

I do want to clarify here though, our creative days include working if you want to work. A lot of our team members use this day to create content for their personal brands or passion projects. While we love what we do, we’re big believers that spending more time on personal passion projects will make us more efficient as a group.

And it does.

Izzy is a big (clothing) thrifter and re-sells clothing.

Eric is a gamer & streamer.

Brema is an artist & creator. He has an upcoming art show, creates a ton of content on his various channels, and is building a fashion brand.

And the rest of our team each have their own passions. Allowing them to focus on what they love not only shows that we care, but also makes them more productive when working on internal or client projects.

2:01 pm - 4:45 pm

We hit the basketball court. This is where I pull out my inner Kobe Bryant. #MambaMentality

(If you’re wondering what I’m doing between 4:45 and 5:00pm I’m usually talking mad smack to my co-workers after my undisputed W).

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

I usually get a call around this time inviting me to a happy hour or event, but I can’t attend because… ya know… I’m working…

Seriously though, I am working around this time. I usually have meetings with my personal consulting clients later in the evening. But the cool thing is… even though I’ve been drinking all day, I haven’t really been drinking. Heineken 0.0 has 0 percent alcohol. *insert winkie face here*

The 4 day work week is something that we wanted to test out and provide to our employees. And while personally I work more than 4 days a week, we decided as founders that our culture is the most important thing to us. I’ve partnered with Heineken to showcase their new product Heineken 0.0. I live in Milwaukee and our beer culture is a lifestyle here. But I wanted to embrace something that wouldn’t dull my senses while at work. And I know there are a lot of people out there that love beer but can’t necessarily drink at work. #NowYouCan

What’s your stance on company culture, four day work weeks, and alcohol at work?