Gwilym Lloyd Jones, Director of Beaufort Financial St Asaph and Chester:
“Working in a service-led profession has many rewards, such as building lasting relationships with clients, but it also comes with particular stresses. Ignoring these stresses will often lead to negative outcomes for those involved, others within the business and, ultimately, client experience. Instead those stresses need to be addressed before they spiral.
“Across the industry, the past two years have sparked a shift in priorities, both personal and professional, and we are pleased to see that mental health and employee wellness have been widely acknowledged as a core employee responsibility.
“At Beaufort Financial St Asaph and Chester, we challenged ourselves to think about how we could re-structure our work for maximum effect from both a client and a staff perspective, and we have now adopted a four-day working week.
“We work a slightly longer day from Monday to Thursday in return for every Friday off, helping to ensure that all our staff have quality time away from work and can return on Monday all the more rested, absolutely present and available to answer any client query that comes our way. Already this downtime has been lifting team spirit and helping to ensure a happier, healthier workforce that is just as productive as it was before.
“Fundamentally, the adviser industry revolves around its clients, and taking steps now to support employee mental health and wellbeing will ensure that firms can service those clients at an enhanced level for years to come.”
