4 Day Week Global seeks to reshape the way we think about work, by moving the conversation away from hours, and onto productivity and output. This not for profit foundation believe that reduced-hour working is the future of work, and that together, work/life balance can become the norm for everyone, allowing employees to live fulfilling, healthy lives, while businesses can flourish and create strong relationships with their people. Since 2019, the foundation has guided hundreds of companies and thousands of workers through pilot programs, they are the world’s largest organization advocating for a 4 day week.
Flexible working works
Workplace flexibility can reduce commuting time and congestion, it reduces business costs requiring less office space as well as the opportunity to redesign the office to maximise collaboration, thus making it appealing to policymakers and employers. For employees, these arrangements promise to facilitate work-life balance by providing greater control over how they allocate and spend their time at work and in their personal life.
4 Day Week Global, have run trials in a number of countries, on six continents, and data supports the power of work-time transformation.
- 36% of businesses saw an increase in revenue over the previous year
- 42% saw a decrease in employee resignations
- 63% of businesses found it easier to attract and retain talent with a 4 day week; and
- 78% of employees with 4 day weeks are happier and less stressed.
- 64% reported a reduction in burnout
Businesses across the UK are being invited to take part in a new trial of a four-day working week this autumn, as campaigners hope to encourage the Labour government to back the movement and adapt to how people work in this country.
The new trial follows the major success of a six-month pilot in 2022, which saw a host of benefits in employee wellbeing, and 56 of the 61 participating companies planning to make a permanent switch to a four-day work week.
One of the greatest benefits of a four-day work week is the positive impact on employees’ mental health and overall wellbeing. Reduced working hours can lead to lower stress levels, reduced burnout, and more time for personal activities, family, and hobbies. Studies have shown that employees who work fewer hours tend to be happier and more engaged at work.
Productivity: Does reducing the working week, increase productivity
Contrary to fears of reduced output, many businesses that have implemented a four-day week report an increase in productivity. This phenomenon, often referred to as the “100-80-100 model” (100% pay, 80% time, 100% productivity), suggests that employees can maintain or even exceed their output in fewer hours by working more efficiently and with greater focus.
The 2022 trial revealed that company revenue increased by an average of 1.4% during the trial period, with some companies seeing even greater improvements. This suggests that employees, when working fewer hours, can maintain or even boost their productivity due to better mental and physical health.
Studies show that the average worker loses two to three hours each day to useless meetings, poor technology implementations, and just plain old distractions. So the 4 day week is actually already here; we just can’t see it because it’s buried underneath these old, outdated practices.
Making it work
Almost all companies that move to a four day week do three things:
- shorten and reform meetings;
- use technology more thoughtfully and mindfully;
- re-design the workday to build in distinct periods for focused work, meetings, and social time.
10Eighty have long advocated the concept of sculpting the job around the needs of employees. Knowledge workers, in particular, want more flexibility and choice. We need to recognise that different categories of workers have very different needs; some want the office environment with prescribed days and times, others want the job to be built around their needs, taking account of childcare, schooling and their partners working arrangements.
Skills shortages and talent pipeline are serious issues for organizations in every sector. We have record unemployment and demand outstrips supply of labour. The smart employer will focus on talent management strategies that empower employees, inspire high performance, facilitating and rewarding development and skills acquisition, to enhance business outcomes.
Making it happen
When the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted in 1930 that advancements in technology and productivity would make a 15-hour work week possible within a century, he could hardly have imagined the kind of progress we’ve experienced since then. Yet, working hours have remained largely stagnant in most advanced western economies.
Offering a four-day work week could be a powerful tool for attracting and retaining top talent. In a competitive job market, flexible working arrangements and a better work-life balance are highly valued by employees, so businesses that offer these benefits an edge. The first UK trial highlighted a 57% drop in the number of staff leaving their jobs compared to the same period the previous year.
Work provides a sense of meaning and accomplishment, and much of our identity is tied to work but it can crowd out a lot of other things and a happy, healthy, productive working life is something that should be an aspiration in the modern workplace.
Continue the conversation… Global Talent Hub are hosting a LIVE session ‘Can the 4 day work week work?’ Register to attend here.
