4ugust Initiative: A People-Powered Approach to Wellbeing in Cyber Security

4ugust Initiative Returns to SEP2

Last year, SEP2 introduced 4ugust – a four-day work week throughout August – to support employee wellbeing across the business. This iniative was started by the 4 Day Week Campaign in collaboration with Autonomy in 2024. You can learn more about the initiative and its positive impact on the team in our blog, ‘Why SEP2 Joined the 4ugust Initiative’.

As a brand-new initiative to SEP2, last year was a learning curve for the company. The biggest challenge was balancing the scheme with the demands of our 24/7 Security Operation Centre. During the month, our CEO Paul Starr observed that our SOC’s high standards were being impacted. In response, we temporarily paused the initiative for our SOC employees, giving us time to rethink and develop a more tailored approach. You can read Paul’s honest thoughts on the experiment in our blog, ‘Our August Experiment: Embracing the Four Day Work Week Challenge’.

Introducing SOCtember

With a 24/7 Security Operations Centre. Things aren’t always simple. That’s why this year, alongside 4ugust, we’ve introduced SOCtember - a tailored approach that gives our SOC team the same opportunity to recharge, without compromising service.

This reflection led to SOCtember, our own spin on the original initiative. By extending the four day week into September, we created space for the SOC team to rest and recharge in a way that worked around their round-the-clock responsibilities.

Team SEP2 – How We Spent Our 4ugust

This year, Team SEP2 was thrilled to see the return of 4ugust and took to LinkedIn to share how we made the most of the extra time. From quality moments with family and friends to exploring new places and diving back into hobbies, it was a month of well-earned rest and recharging.