The call for a four-day working week is getting louder - are you on board yet?
Would you like to switch to a four-day working week but not sacrifice any of your earnings? Of course, you’re probably thinking. In fact, it sounds almost too good to be true. Well, not if you work for one of the companies taking part in a pilot scheme launched in the UK last month. Those involved will be signing up to make the switch for six months, helping academics to answer whether moving to a shorter working week is commercially viable on a large scale. It’s not just here either, pilots are taking place in Ireland, the U.S, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
It’s the most recent example of what feels like a genuine and growing interest in the four-day week. In the past few years there’ve been successful studies in other countries and in the UK more and more companies are announcing they’re making the change. Atom bank, for example, a mobile app-based bank, said it was changing to a four-day week last November, making it the largest UK company to adopt it so far. Then there’s the Landmark London, a five star hotel which recently said it was giving its chefs an extra day off. With competition for hospitality staff particularly tough because of the pandemic, it’s potentially a great way of making themselves more attractive as an employer. And it’s that which has led us to wonder whether the pandemic might be partly responsible for driving the interest there seems to be from business right now. When organisations were forced to bring in huge changes to remote and flexible working practices almost overnight, it proved it was easier than we’d thought to shake up modern working structures. Add in the greater awareness of mental health and it’s perhaps not surprising businesses are a lot more open to it as an idea than they were a few years ago. Still, though, it’s a big step for any company to take, so what are the potential pros and cons?
The positives:
· Greater productivity. This is the big one that’s most often cited. When the owner of New Zealand law firm Perpetual Guardian launched a four-day week in 2018 employees agreed to having lockers for their phones, soundproofed meeting spaces and to shorten meetings. Time spent on non-work websites dropped by 35% (probably because employees had more time to manage their life admin outside work) and they saw a 20% rise in productivity.
· An increase in staff morale and wellbeing. When MRL Recruitment introduced a shorter week four out of five employees said their mental health and stress levels improved. Short-term absences reduced by 40% and nearly all staff said they came back to work feeling more rested.
· Improved recruitment and retention. According to BakedIn, which has had a four-day week since it started in 2013, every year 30% of employees leave their job in the food industry, but at BakedIn it’s only 5%. Given the importance more people are placing on a good work/life balance, a shorter week has got to be a big perk for many.
· A more equal workforce. Women are still far more likely than men to go part-time after they have children. A four-day week on full pay would bring greater equality, mean employees could more easily manage childcare commitments and might increase the pool of potential candidates for roles.
· Environmental and financial savings. With offices closed one day a week and fewer car journeys to and from work, there are financial and environmental benefits to making the change.
The negatives:
· It’s an expensive risk. A shorter week only works for organisations that can reshape their working structure. In 2019 the Wellcome Trust had to abandon its four-day week trial saying it was “too operationally complex to implement."
· Workers may put in the same time. Not all jobs suit four day working and some just take time to do. Plus, if a business is 24/7 and shifts are scattered you might, for example, find some employees feel pressured to dial into team meetings on their days off.
· An adverse impact on business deals. It might take clients and customers a while to adapt to you doing a four-day week; new clients too might be put off coming on board if they think you won’t be around to answer their queries.
The truth is nothing’s ever simple, but, still, it does feel like an exciting time for those of us interested in improving the work/life balance. Do you agree? And are you tempted by the idea of the pilot? One thing’s for sure: will definitely be awaiting the results with interest!
