Eidos-Montréal, the Canadian video game developer behind Guardians of the Galaxy, is switching to a four-day workweek, the company announced Thursday. It's the first AAA video game studio to implement a shorter workweek.
David Anfossi, the company's head of studio, said the workweek will look something like this: The Montreal and Sherbrooke studios will be closed on Fridays, and employee salaries won't be affected. The company hopes the change will help them work more efficiently by cutting down the amount of time spent in meetings and completing other tasks, Anfossi said.
"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!" Anfossi said. "Above all, we want to increase the productivity and well-being of our employees."
Many companies have been moving toward a four-day workweek in recent years, especially with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea, for these employers, is that workers can be more productive with less time in front of the computer, and that a shorter workweek is more attractive for potential employees.