Advertising agencies do 4 days off and 3 days off?
It sounds somewhat counter-intuitive.
In recent years, life in the advertising industry has not been easy. Market budgets have become cautious, project competition is fierce, and artificial intelligence is constantly changing the way content is produced. In the face of uncertainty, increasing input and improving output seems to be a more understandable choice.
But it was three years ago that TIMA Shanghai began to implement the “four days off and three days off” system, with days off every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
1. An “untimely” decision
2023, the first year of implementation, happens to be the year when Shanghai companies become indebted.
Partners will naturally have questions: Why not turn losses into profits first, but give everyone more freedom?
That’s a good question. After all, freedom can’t be used to pay rent. Companies need to be run, projects need to be delivered, and any work system must face costs and benefits.
But for a company that relies on creativity to create value, does working longer necessarily create more?
Especially in the past few years after the end of the COVID-19, there have been more and more discussions around work, such as “involution”, “lying flat” and “Odyssey period”. The new generation of people are constantly looking for new words to understand their own situation and are beginning to rethink.What role should work play in life?
Jizu Studio pointed out some changes in the latest article “Young People Send Rejection Letters to Companies on Single Days” published in October 2026: HR of an Internet company in Hangzhou said that because 80% of candidates refused to take single days off, the company finally increased the number of rest days; another company in Chengdu changed to weekend days due to recruitment difficulties, and since then more than a dozen job seekers have come for interviews every month.
Zhaopin Recruitment’s “New Standard for “Good Jobs”: 2025 Workplace Value Survey Report” also shows that 64.1% of the surveyed workers listed “work-life balance” as their primary consideration when choosing a career, surpassing “competitive salary and benefits.”
This certainly does not mean that people no longer value income and development, but time autonomy, quality of life and work experience have also been included in the criteria for measuring a job.
So, having said that,Why do you still have four days off and three days off when you are already in debt?
In fact, for a creative company like us,This is not just a trend in the talent market, it is also related to the characteristics of creative work itself.
(Note: The picture shows one of TIMA’s recruitment posters in 2021)
Creative workers are not necessarily opposed to high-intensity work. For a project worth investing in, many passionate and professional people are willing to spend a lot of time researching, discussing and polishing. But being willing to work seriously and being willing to let work take over your entire life are not the same thing.
not to mention,The birth of an idea is not always directly proportional to the time spent working at the desk.
TIMA has always adhered to an understanding: ” Creativity does not rely on inspiration. Creativity comes from the subconscious mind, which needs to be learned from all your life experiences and observations. So for us, there is no useless knowledge.” 。
Reading, travel, communication, observation, interest in a certain culture, and even some experiences that cannot be used for the time being may all be involved in creation at some point in the future.
As Han Bingzhe once said:“Doing nothing is not empty time, it has its depth”many times, we cannot know in advance when these experiences will be connected.
(Note: The picture shows the “children’s shoes” produced by TIMA in 2023 for Alimama’s Children’s Day project)
But when a person’s daily life is filled with projects, meetings, modifications and deliveries for a long time, the world he can access will become increasingly limited.
On the one hand, we hope that creative workers can always keep fresh observations and imaginations, but on the other hand, we may constantly take up the time on which these abilities need to grow.
In addition, the founder Mingming once read an article about attention, which mentioned that people may only have about four hours of high concentration every day. This number certainly cannot be taken as a precise conclusion that applies to everyone, but the questions it extends to are still valuable:If truly effective attention is inherently limited, why are we still used to working as long as possible to measure whether a person is fully engaged?
therefore,The decision to take four days off and three days off is not just an idealistic “go against the grain”, in fact, it is more like a kind of “going with the flow” on our part.
Of course, the company has to bear the cost of such a change, but Mingming always adheres to one judgment:“The biggest cost of TIMA is always the cost of morale.” Time for intense focus is ultimately limited, and if morale and effective energy are the truly scarce resources of creative work, then apparent hours aren’t really worth focusing on.
2. From Free Month to doing four days off and three days off: turning freedom into a system
Working four days a week and three days off is not the first time TIMA has changed its work arrangements.
Earlier,The company will set aside one month at the end of each year as Free Month.
Temporarily putting aside the demands of advertisers, the burden of brands and the pressure of product sales, the team uses their own skills to complete some non-profit creations.What we wanted to explore at that time was: What else can be done with advertising creativity after it leaves direct commercial returns?
Picture: Tencent TADesign’s public service advertisement design practice, 2017
At the same time, TIMA’s “character” was also influenced by Netflix. Long before, Netflix was famous for its open corporate culture with the purpose of “freedom” and “responsibility”. They believed “The core of modern corporate culture is that people manage people, but the people who manage people are not the managers of the company, but the employees themselves.
Under the influence of this concept, TIMAtried a flexible work system and proposed the concept of “365 days of annual leave”hoping that everyone can independently arrange their work rhythm according to their own tasks and life.
But the result is somewhat unexpected: the system provides sufficient freedom, and everyone is still used to coming to the office every day.
Just because the system allows for rest does not mean that people can rest peacefully. In many workplace settings, absences still require explanations, and taking time off may still be accompanied by concerns about “not being committed enough.”
We don’t want this vacation shame to become another invisible attendance system.
(Note: The picture shows a corner of TIMA Shanghai’s office)
So three years ago, TIMA tried a more explicit arrangement: making Wednesdays personal.
Compared with the flexible working system, what changes with four days off and three days off is the default attribution of time.
In the past, the working day belonged to work first, and personal life needed to claim time from it;
Now, in principle, Wednesday belongs to individuals, and only project matters that really need to be dealt with will be temporarily occupied.
If you believe that your colleagues have the ability to make independent judgments and take responsibility, you should not give them time autonomy while making them feel guilty for using this right.
3. Only adults welcome: freedom, responsibility and necessary exceptions
Yes,There is no utopia in the adult world, and having four days off and three days off does not mean that overtime will disappear.
Especially for advertising agencies, proposals, shooting and centralized delivery will still bring a tense rhythm. Clients will not change their arrangements because of our break. When encountering project matters that need to be handled in a timely manner, colleagues will still respond remotely on Wednesdays.
What we can do,In an industry where working hours are full of uncertainty, we take the initiative to create some relatively certain leisure time and change the default attributes of Wednesday.In addition to four days off and three days off, TIMA does not set any attendance and annual leave restrictions.Do not make up for work during public holidayscolleagues can flexibly arrange vacations according to project progress and personal needs, leaving a buffer for busy work.
(Note: The picture shows Nordic outing during the “economic upturn”)
At the same time, reducing the working hours of a day also forces more efficient judgment. Which meetings must be held, what information needs to be synchronized, who decides, what issues need to be dealt with immediately, and what can wait until the next working day. On the contrary, freedom increases the requirements for people’s judgment and cooperation ability.
Beyond the process, what’s more important is how trust is built between teams.
Regarding trust, Mingming mentioned a short story that happened to him.
Once while traveling in Denmark, he accidentally left his schoolbag on a mountain and had no chance to return to look for it until the next day. There were already many people coming and going on the mountain at that time, and the bag was open. There were cameras, wallets and other valuables inside, but surprisingly nothing was lost. This was a very personal travel experience, but this little incident left a deep impression on him.If people didn’t have to be wary and suspicious of others all the time in daily life or work, would many things become simpler?
The same goes for teams. If an organization always starts with prevention,Management itself can also consume a lot of time and energybut it is worth noting that “trust” does not mean canceling rules, but how to find the right position between rules and independent judgment.
The company does not assume that employees need to be supervised at all times, and employees cannot understand freedom as the disappearance of responsibility. Rather than fixed attendance hours, we care more about work results, quality of collaboration, and everyone’s responsibility for the project. There is a sentence in Netflix’s early culture manual that is quite representative:“Hire, reward, and tolerate only fully formed adults.” That is, “Hire, reward, and tolerate only fully formed adults.”
TIMA was inspired by this and put forward its own proposition: only adults are welcome. 1. Adjust mentality 2. Communicate equally 3. Take responsibility
And this trust not only requires employees to be self-disciplined, managers also need to learn to let go.
During the post-production of “The Movie 2”, Mingming communicated too directly and frequently with the director, which even made the producer, creative and account colleagues feel that they were not fully involved.Colleagues expressed their opinions to him and said bluntly: “No one in this company will shirk responsibility.”This sentence impressed Mingming deeply, and he realized that this “responsibility” had already become a mutual commitment among team members. Trust is fragile, but it is also the foundation upon which the strongest and most effective work is built.
4. So three years later, how is TIMA doing?
What happened to this company?
The answer may be a bit bland,No earth-shattering changes.To be honest, business has barely been affected.
Even outside of the advertising business, our team continues to develop its own design brands, including wine glass measuring cups, mirror Frisbees, kitten incense inserts, cat litter scoops, camping chairs, umbrellas…
At TIMA, everyone has the opportunity to speak on a 5-minute talk show (bushi), product manager!
Combine inspiration and observation in daily life, participate in the development of different interesting products, and release different creative vitality!
(Note: Click on the image to jump to read our product line story. )
Outside of business, the really obvious changes happen to people.
The Shanghai team maintains an extremely low turnover rate.For creative companies, this means that the tacit understanding of cooperation can continue and experience can be continuously accumulated.
At the same time, more and more creative talents take the initiative to understand and choose TIMA because they work four days off and three days off.The common pursuit of “freedom” brings us together.
Colleagues who were fresh graduates who just joined the company this year even admitted that they were really scared of this “non-working day” Wednesday in the first week, and even repeatedly confirmed whether everyone really wouldn’t come… After getting a positive answer, they quickly integrated in; some colleagues with longer working experience said that they have stayed longer than they imagined when they first joined the job… But now theyI still like this job that gives me a sense of accomplishment and freedom.！
If you ask everyone what they are doing on Wednesday, the answer is much more exciting.
Everyone is wrong:
Take advantage of the sun to dry clothes and plants, cook a good meal, read comics, and play casual board games.
Residing in nearby cities and working remotely.
Do pottery, go to art exhibitions, book fairs, visit bookstores, and play game consoles.
Play tennis, golf, rock climb.
All-English improvisational comedy performances and band performances.
Improving a new skill is not limited to: musical instruments and making ice cream (there is still room for improvement.
Realize the freedom of 8 in the morning and 8 in the evening, and exercise in the evening at 8 in the live dream.
Get away from humans and enter the animal world on Wednesday.
Run to Disney (continue to stay away from the human world.
Compared to weekends, the city is much quieter and more leisurely on weekdays.
Watch a show, go to the park, go out to see an exhibition! The art museum on a weekday is incredibly beautiful!
Draw and take photos without any burden, or play mahjong or pinto, be busy making your own band album, or prepare for an impromptu comedy club performance.In addition to creative brain practice, everyone will also become “sports students” one after another, such as badminton, tennis, rock climbing, golf, or swimming that they have always wanted to pick up but never found the opportunity before.
Occasionally, I return to the simplest life, moving, taking pets to the hospital, handling chores, spending time with my family, or just reading quietly, catching up on sleep, and finally having an afternoon where I don’t have to do anything.
Nearly a century ago, Russell defended leisure in “In Praise of Idleness” and even pointed out radically and sharply that “working hard is the morality of slaves, and modern society does not need slavery.”What he values is not only the rest after work, but also the time that does not directly serve production but makes life richer.
We cannot change the environment, but the least we can do for a creative company is to practice a different institutional imagination and try to leave room for such possibilities.
Three years is not the final answer, just a phase report – about time, creativity, and why we choose to work together in the way we do,
And the experiment continues.
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