When I became an agency owner, I knew I wanted to create a company that I would want to work at as an employee — a place you would want to go to every day. However, as I sat looking at my employees’ faces during virtual meetings in the wake of the pandemic and the hard market, I could see they were mentally drained, and so was I. 

It’s been a rough few years, and burnout in the insurance industry is on the rise. According to the 2025 Independent Agents at Work Study from Liberty Mutual, more than half (57%) of frontline staff say they feel mentally and physically exhausted, and 51% report feeling burned out. Burned-out agency employees are also twice as likely to seek out a new role.   

Retaining experienced employees is essential to my business, and I had some key employees move farther away from the office during the pandemic. I didn’t want to risk losing them, so I challenged myself to find a way to better support my staff’s mental health.  

I went down a research rabbit hole of work-life balance articles and YouTube videos, and after countless hours online, I felt strongly that a 4-day workweek was the solution. I started working on what a schedule would look like but found few resources on how to implement it.  

I finally gave ChatGPT a try, and after a few iterations, it provided a workable schedule. My initial experience with ChatGPT really opened my eyes to how AI can help us be more efficient and make the 4-day week work.  

A new work model 

Even before the pandemic, we had the laptops and cloud systems in place to quickly transition to remote work, and we had already shifted to a hybrid work model. Having that foundation in place made it easier to transition to a new schedule.  

Read our new research on the state of well-being in independent agencies to learn more about burnout and employee wellness.

We introduced the virtual 4-day, 32-hour workweek in May 2024. We continue to refine the schedule, and as of March 2025, we all work on Monday and Tuesday. The other workdays change as we have a rotating schedule, so employees will have a different day off each week. 

However, there are two non-negotiables: Our agency must provide excellent customer service for 40 hours a week, and we must maintain high levels of productivity.  

People are surprised that our staff members work a 32-hour week, not the expected 40 hours. What I have found is if you give someone a week to do something, they’ll finish it in a week. If you give them a day, they’ll get it done in a day. Our new work model has given us a sense of urgency and the incentive to get things done. 

Big, bold changes take time 

Not surprisingly, my staff loved the 4-day week and welcomed the flexibility and time to decompress. However, the honeymoon period ended after a month, as issues began to appear. Customer calls were not being returned promptly, tasks were not completed on time, and our Net Promoter Score (NPS) tanked.  

What I discovered were the inefficiencies in our agency operations, which were existing, ongoing issues that finally came to the surface. Our response was to find and fix what wasn’t working. That led to us truly transforming how we work together and creating a culture that values our employees’ well-being.  

Here’s how we improved agency efficiency and made a 4-day week work: 

1. Standardized agency processes 

Our first step was documenting key agency procedures, such as the sales process. If we all follow the same process, then it doesn’t matter who picks up the phone when a client calls, as everyone has the information and tools needed to handle any task. This gives our team members the freedom to take a day off and not worry about work. 

Standardizing processes is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time and is a never-ending process, but it’s time well spent. Clearly defining what needs to be done and when increases employee accountability and reduces their stress about how to handle various situations. It also makes onboarding new employees easier and more efficient.  

2. Created a collaborative culture 

Most agencies are operating under an old model that silos employees and functions, which can result in attitudes of “That’s not my job or my account.” Over time, this can result in some employees being overloaded while others have lighter workdays.  

To help distribute the workload across teams and reduce burnout, we transitioned to a shared inbox that all team members have access to. This fosters a collaborative agency culture, where ownership and accountability are shared across the team. It also helps us deliver a consistent, positive experience for our clients.  

Shared inbox tasks are routed directly to the appropriate team — licensed sales, licensed service, non-licensed client-facing support, or non-licensed back-office support. The team then distributes or reassigns tasks to members to balance the workload and increase efficiency.  

3. Embraced AI technology  

Technology is the foundation of our 4-day workweek as it allows employees to focus on higher-value tasks, while AI-driven tools can handle transcribing meetings, improving email grammar, and even answering after-hours phone calls.  

We also created an agency intranet with an AI-based chatbot to help staff quickly find the content they need for a variety of internal procedures. The chatbot is an incredible resource, especially for newer employees as the chatbot can help “coach” them, freeing our experienced employees to focus on their work. 

Work smarter, not longer 

A year after implementing a 4-day workweek, our productivity and NPS scores have increased, as has overall job satisfaction among employees. We continue to refine our processes to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our clients while maintaining our commitment to a workplace culture that values our employees and their mental health. 

I’m proud of the modern agency we’ve created. I challenge other agency leaders to rethink how they operate and how they can help their employees achieve better work-life balance.