The studio behind a blockbuster 'Tomb Raider' game is switching to a 4-day work week for its staff, cutting hours from 40 to 32 while keeping salaries the same

• Video game maker Eidos-Montreal is switching to a four-day week, closing on Fridays.
• Salaries won't change, and workers' hours will go from 40 a week to 32, it said.

Staff at the Canadian game studio Eidos-Montreal will no longer have to work Friday after the company announced a switch to a four-day work week.

The studio, which is currently developing Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" game and has about 500 employees, said salaries won't change and that workers' hours would drop from 40 a week to 32.

In a blog post, head of studio David Anfossi said the company would also limit internal meetings to 30 minutes in order to help staff make the transition. The changes will happen over "the next few weeks" for staff at the studio's Montreal and Sherbrooke office, he said.

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"We want a real collaborative aspect so that the teams contribute to the transition, each one working to define the parameters and criteria for success for the organization of work and deadlines," he wrote in the blog post.

More companies are considering reducing the hours their employees work as they reassess work-life balance for their staff. A four-day work week is a common way of reducing hours, and it's gaining momentum politically.

Two trials in Iceland showed that working fewer hours improved the wellbeing of local authority staff, while the Spanish and Scottish governments are among those who have announced plans for national trials of reduced hours..

In the US, California Rep. Mark Takano has introduced a bill that seeks to cut the threshold at which workers receive overtime pay, therefore enabling them to reduce their total working hours.

Eidos-Montreal, owned by publisher Square Enix, is known for its work on games in the "Deus Ex" series, as well as for 2018's "Shadow of the Tomb Raider."