# Meet Jeanette Ramsden, CEO of The Curve Group

- **Episode:** [183](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/183.md) (2025-03-27)
- **Type:** interview
- **Tags:** 4-day-week, 35-hour-week, flexible-working
- **Time:** 0:00–6:22 (start 0s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/183?t=0](https://truthliesandwork.com/183?t=0)

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[0:00] Jeanette Ramsden: I was one of the first to sort of adopt the 4-day working week, but actually we're 35-hour flexible working week, and that's taking the 4-day working week to the next level again. And we've seen no dip in performance whatsoever. There are other things that we have had to work harder on, but the performance isn't one of them. All I can say is it is worth it. UK has got traditionally one of the worst working hour weeks of the whole of Europe, and I worry for industry that We're not going to have people that will be able to give people a nice working life because they've not got decent leaders. This, I am going to transform this person's working life. And it might be helping a line manager through a different difficult situation, helping organisations grow very quickly. It's life-changing. It's human beings
[0:51] Leanne Elliott: I'm honestly getting a bit emotional, Jeanette. And it's, I'd love to go to a 4-day work week. I'm a bit fearful. What advice would you give them?
[0:58] Jeanette Ramsden: You want them in the office for 5-day working week? Well, you know, good Good luck with that. You know, you're not going to attract the best talent. And even if you do, they're not going to stay with you very long, because there are other employers out there that are going to be able to offer this. And guess what? They will leave. By the way, let's not get me started on AI and recruitment. But anyway, be careful when you implement these things that you're then not then—
[1:30] Leanne Elliott: Hello, and welcome to Truth, Lies and Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioral science meets workplace culture. We are brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. My name is Leanne. I'm a chartered occupational psychologist
[1:45] Al Elliott: My name is Al. I'm a business owner
[1:47] Leanne Elliott: And we are here to help you create amazing workplace cultures
[1:50] Al Elliott: Today, we're joined by someone who's actually gone and done what many companies only talk about, implemented a 4-day work week across their entire organisation
[1:59] Leanne Elliott: Kinda, as we'll learn, it's not quite a 4-day work week, but it certainly is reduced working hours. Jeanette Ramsden is CEO of The Curve Group, a company that is transforming HR and recruitment through a deeply human-centred approach. What is really cool about Jeanette's story is that she's not just experimenting with work hours, she's fundamentally rethinking what makes a productive, engaging workplace in 2025
[2:24] Al Elliott: And let's just be honest for a second, when an HR and recruitment company like Curve makes this sort of bold move, It sends ripples through the entire industry. They're essentially walking the talk, practicing what they preach to their clients about creating cultures where people genuinely want to work
[2:39] Leanne Elliott: Exactly. And the research on reduced work hours is compelling. Studies repeatedly show it can increase productivity, improve wellbeing, and reduce burnout. But there's a massive gap between the theory and actual implementation. Jeanette has navigated those practical challenges that trip up so many organizations
[2:59] Al Elliott: If you haven't listened to Tuesday's episode, then go back and listen to that as well once you listen to this one, because we have the amazing Grace Tallon on there who's from the Work Time Reduction Centre, um, and she's got a really spicy hot take, but it talks all about that. If you're a business owner though, and you're wondering how a, how a reduced time work week could work in your company, or maybe you're just intrigued by the idea of working a bit differently, you are gonna love this. We're gonna get into the nitty-gritty of how Jeanette made it happen without sacrificing client service
[3:26] Leanne Elliott: We'll also explore Jeanette's perspective on leadership as a woman CEO in an environment where there's increasing talk about masculine energy in the workplace. You're going to really like her answer. After this short break, join us for a conversation that might just change how you think about the future of work
[4:17] Al Elliott: Nice. Okay, let's go and meet the amazing Jeanette Ramsden
[4:28] Jeanette Ramsden: Jeanette Ramsden. I am the CEO of The Curve Group. The Curve Group is a professional services firm specializing in HR and recruitment, and we've been running for 20 years, providing services to our customers, and that can be in any format in the employee lifecycle. Our target customers are businesses that have anything from 100 to 3,000 employees, and we're literally here to help the HR community achieve their goals in business, quite frankly. What am I famous for? Being a bit naughty, actually, as a CEO, occasionally
[5:10] Leanne Elliott: You know, I have to ask, how are you naughty?
[5:14] Jeanette Ramsden: Just challenging traditional working techniques. I think getting a blend, you know, we're about to take the next generation of workforce in. That's going to be 6 generations working in the workplace, and they all need different things. And I think it's incredibly important to not forget sort of traditional and true work methodology, but actually bring a lot of fun and new thinking to the workplace. You know, I was one of the first to sort of adopt the I know the topic is 4-day working week, but actually we're 35-hour flexible working week, and that's taking the 4-day working week to the next level again. And there's some really good new reasons for that. So, you know
[6:04] Leanne Elliott: I mean, it's, it's, it is exactly what we're talking about today, the 4-day work week, or I guess more accurately reduced working hours. So, can we start at the beginning? What led you to decide that you wanted to introduce a 35-hour work week? And would you mind just explaining how that's slightly different to what a lot of people would have heard of as the 4-day work week?