Beyond 9-5: The Secret to How We Built a Flexible Work Culture that Really Works

By Ren Bowman, Multimedia Lead, The Digital Voice™

It’s 2019 and you’re sitting in a cubicle in a traditional office. You clock in at 9am after a commute of half an hour or more, and you sit at your desk all day, save a few breaks at the coffee machine or water cooler, or a quick chat with a colleague who comes to stand behind you. You eat lunch in the cafeteria, at your desk, or the coffee shop down the street (or in my case, more than a few times, in my car) and then it’s back to work until 5pm and another commute. Tomorrow, you’ll do it all again.

The thought that this kind of routine inspires anyone’s best work is archaic. If your job is a traditional 9-5, you’re going to spend 90,000 hours, or a third of your life, repeating this same groundhog day work. Where’s the work-life balance?

If we can thank the pandemic years for anything, it’s the workplace revolution that brought on an era of flexible working. The Digital Voice™ has always been fully remote, but for many companies, those years proved that flexibility and remote structures weren’t just temporary solutions––they were long-overdue improvements to the way we live our lives.

As more and more businesses call for a return to traditional office environments, the reality is that rigid structures don’t serve modern teams, especially in fast-paced industries like adtech. True flexibility isn’t just about location, it’s about empowering your team to work in a way that fuels their creativity and well-being, and in turn, their productivity and outputs.

At The Digital Voice™, we’ve built a whole culture around remote flexibility, and the proof is in the pudding that businesses can thrive by putting people first. Want in on our secrets? Here’s the lowdown:

Secret #1: Flexibility is about more than just location

If you’ve seen any job listings in the last few years, you’ll probably recognise a pattern: companies advertise ‘flexible working’, but what they really mean is a chance to work from home a few mornings a week, often on a rigid structure. But no one really thrives on the exact same routine as the next person. True flexibility means recognising that everyone has different rhythms, responsibilities and productivity peaks. 

Whether it’s picking up the kids, mornings at the gym, a stroll with the dog, or simply feeling more productive in the early hours, a perfect life-work balance (in that order) looks different for everyone. At The Digital Voice™, our team can choose any 8-hour window between 7am and 6pm GMT, allowing us to choose our own schedules around school runs, time zones and seasonal time changes, and if we need to nip off to an appointment or want to catch a gym class, we can make up the time later. It keeps us energised, engaged and inspired, and it means we can work with a team around the world.

Secret #2: Structure and autonomy can co-exist just fine

A fully flexible workplace doesn’t mean a free-for-all. It means employers and their teams are a partnership, not a hierarchy. It thrives when supported by clear systems, and like all great relationships, by strong communication. Companies that get it right provide structure without micromanagement:

• Weekly 1:1s between team members and managers provide space to discuss workload and schedules, picking up where productivity slips or changes might benefit everyone
• Software like Slack allows for real-time updates, allowing for seamless communication on schedule changes and a chance to socialise like we’re all in one space
• Founder-led monthly check-ins create space for open conversation about life-work balance
• The Digital Voice™ also host quarterly virtual workshops with a business coach, who provides us with strategies for time management, personal growth and upskilling

With structures like these in place, the team feels empowered instead of restricted, and as a result, we’re both satisfied and productive, with the added benefit of feeling we can be open about what isn’t working for us.

Secret #3: Flexibility is about culture, not just productivity

We like to say we have flex baked into our DNA. Although it might be a ‘workplace policy’, great flexible working isn’t a footnote. It’s something that should be ingrained into your company culture. If you want to build a company where people and productivity thrive hand in hand, culture can’t be an afterthought.

Trust, transparency and collaboration are the cornerstones of how we work at The Digital Voice™. One of our most impactful policies is our Half-day Fridays, where the focus after pressing tasks is team or personal improvement sessions. Not only does a shorter week inspire us all to work harder on the days that precede it, dedicated time for learning, brainstorming and strategic thinking means that growth is never sacrificed for the sake of daily deadlines. 

Secret #4: Flexible teams are happier, more productive teams

You might be saying to yourself: it all sounds so good, but does it actually work? Can teams be fully remote and work on their own terms without the business falling apart?

Last year, we participated in an anonymous Agency Benchmarker survey to evaluate our team’s experience, and we believe the numbers speak for themselves:

• 98% of The Digital Voice™ team report achieving their ideal life-work balance
• 100% of employees – that’s every single team member – would actively recommend working here
• 94% of the team believe they’ll stay with the company long-term
• 85% of the team feel just as or more creative and collaborative working remote than in person

But beyond the stats, the real impact is seen in the lives of our team. Three of our team members have moved abroad with no change to their roles. We’ve also expanded across the globe, with team members in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Japan, and Australia, proving location is no barrier to success. We provide custom flexibility during cultural and religious observances such as Ramadan to support personal needs, ‘Duvet Days’ where team members can take a day off without pre-booking it, for emergencies, physical and mental health needs. 

This is about so much more productivity—it’s about creating a workplace where people want to stay, grow, and succeed.

The Takeaways

Whatever kind of flexibility you’re looking to implement, whether you’re fully remote or in and out of the office, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to get it right. It requires customisation, support, input from your team, and continuous refinement. Here’s three key takeaways for companies looking to build their own strong flexible working policy:

• Trust your team – empower them with autonomy and provide structured support
• Make flexible work the new normal, not an exception – integrate it into your company values and daily operations
• Communicate openly and without kickback for criticism – your team is a partnership, not a hierarchy, and you’ll do your best work when everyone’s allowed input on how they thrive
• Measure your success through feedback – surveys, 1:1 facetime and open discussions to refine the approach ensures your policy will truly serve the team

If nearly 13 years of The Digital Voice™ have proved anything, it’s that flexibility is not a trend. It’s the future of work, particularly in fast-moving industries like advertising and PR, where employees need to be on the ball, creative and adaptable. Our fully remote, flexible work culture isn’t just a policy. It’s ingrained in who we are, shaping an environment where people are empowered, productive, and truly enjoy their work. Being recognised by the UK Company Culture judging panel is a powerful validation of everything we’ve built. It affirms that putting people first isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s the future of work.

These days my commute is 6 feet across the hall to my office, and my day is punctuated with a healthy, homemade lunch at my own table, a stroll in the sun in the morning, and my favourite music playing in the background to keep me focused. Remote catch ups with my colleagues keep me from feeling isolated, but never interrupt me when I’m on a task. On a Monday morning, I’m never complaining about the week ahead, and by the time we clock off at 1pm on a Friday, I’m satisfied to have completed four and a half days of my best work.

With the right strategy, your team can produce their best work every day too, without sacrificing their well-being. It’s time to stop debating whether we should be back in the office, and embrace the truth: that putting people first is the best way forward for higher engagement, better employee retention, and a happier, more productive workforce. If we’re going to spend a third of our lives working, let it be with a genuine smile on our faces.

About the Author: Ren Bowman is Multimedia Lead at The Digital Voice™, a journalist, marketer and award-winning podcast producer living with ADHD. They’ve worked in a range of industries from adtech to entertainment, education and finance, balancing work with various successful creative pursuits. An activist for LGBTQ+ rights and sustainability, and an advocate for spreading kindness in everything they do, they’ve spent the past 8 years building online communities for LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent people to connect, socialise and seek advice in a safe environment.