It’s a four-day week for most of us in 2025 says WPP boss Read
Is there an arms race going on between ad holding companies about time in the office? Not that long after Publicis announced it was three days (and fired a number of staff in the US who didn’t agree) WPP CEO has said it’s going to be four, including two Fridays a month.
The updated global guidelines will apply to most staff across WPP’s operations in dozens of markets.
Read (above) says in a memo: “Spending more time together is important to all of us, and we are making a change to help that happen. From the beginning of April this year, the expectation across WPP will be that most of us spend an average of four days a week in the office.
“This doesn’t mean we’re going back to old ways of doing things. During the pandemic we all learned the value of greater flexibility in our working lives and of being trusted to balance work and personal commitments. We need to keep that spirit of flexibility and trust, and will approach this transition with pragmatism and an understanding of people’s different circumstances. There will be a clear process to request additional flexibility – including for those with caring responsibilities, health issues and other considerations. Some roles that have always been fully or largely remote will continue as they are.”
Sensible enough it seems, but easier said than done. WPP’s rambling empire is tricky to administer (like most empires) with 100,000 or so people scattered across the globe. From time to time there are rebellious outbreaks in Australia, Africa and India. Will Read fire those who don’t toe the line?
The move may also affect talent hire and retention. London, where WPP is headquartered and has a big operation, is an expensive city, particularly for younger workers who have to cope daily with a creaking (and expensive) transport system and have little or no chance of ever affording a property in easy reach of the office. Advertising salaries have failed to keep pace with others in the City of London and the law.
It looks like being another choppy year for Read and the senior suits at WPP. The share price adamantly refuses to budge in the way they hope despite some analysts saying the company is undervalued. Others say the opposite, expecting WPP to offer disappointing 2025 guidance of only 1-2% growth in when it announces its 2024 full year figures shortly.
A few departures may benefit the bottom line but not, one might think, WPP’s ambition to be the premier “creative transformation company.”
Update: the natives are indeed revolting with this change.org petition,
