Archive · 12 Aug 2026
Design firm founder won't compromise employees' work-life balance
A company founder named Sarah Sham runs a design business that works across 18 cities.
She decided that her employees should not have to work late or on weekends.
Her team works from 9 in the morning to 6 in the evening, five days a week.
They do not take calls on weekends, and they do not have Sunday deadlines.
If a project is behind schedule, she hires another designer instead of asking her team to work extra.
She used to think good design meant working through the night.
But she learned that her designers did their best work when they were not too tired.
Some clients left because they wanted teams that worked weekends, but she let them go and kept her rule.
Her post on LinkedIn got a lot of attention, and many people agreed that long hours do not always mean better work.
Sarah Sham, co-founder of a design firm operating across 18 cities, said she lets clients go rather than ask employees to sacrifice evenings and weekends.
Her team works a five-day week from 9 am to 6 pm, with no weekend calls or Sunday deadlines even when projects run behind schedule.
Sham said she changed her approach after noticing that the best work was rarely created when her designers were exhausted.
Some clients chose to leave because they preferred teams available for weekend calls, and Sham said she 'let them go and kept the rule.'
Her LinkedIn post sparked a conversation, with several professionals agreeing that longer hours do not automatically translate into better work.
- Who
- Sarah Sham, co-founder of a design firm that operates across 18 cities, and her team of designers.
- What
- Sham said she lets clients go rather than compromise her employees' work-life balance, enforcing a five-day, 9 am to 6 pm schedule with no weekend calls or Sunday deadlines.
- When
- Not specified in the articles.
- Where
- Not specified; the design firm operates across 18 unnamed cities.
- Why
- She realized exhausted designers produced weaker work and believes pushing staff too hard makes work slowly become less interesting, so she prioritizes rest and sustainability.
Prioritizing employee rest
Adapting to client demand
Long hours and quality
Prioritizing employee rest
Long working hours do not necessarily lead to better results; exhausted teams produce work that slowly becomes less interesting.
Adapting to client demand
The industry is structurally built around late nights and weekends because clients are rarely free during regular work hours.
Enforcing boundaries with clients
Prioritizing employee rest
Letting clients go is worth it to protect employees' evenings, weekends, and well-being.
Adapting to client demand
Some clients prefer teams that take calls or work on weekends, and even supportive leaders admit they occasionally make their teams work late.
- Person
- Sarah Sham, co-founder of a design firm
- Firm reach
- Operates across 18 cities
- Work schedule
- Five days a week, 9 am to 6 pm
- Policy
- No weekend calls or Sunday deadlines
- When projects lag
- She hires another designer instead of asking employees to work through days off
- Client response
- Some clients left; Sham said she kept the rule
- Platform
- LinkedIn post that sparked discussion