Will your company be looking to go to a four day working week?
This week, around 30 British companies joined a new pilot scheme which will see them trial four-day working weeks for six months.
Founded in 2018, 4 Day Week is aiming to create a “new way of working” which its founders believe will improve business productivity and the mental and physical health of employees, creating a “more sustainable work environment”.
Employees at firms taking part in the pilot, which will run from June 2022 to December 2022, will be expected to maintain 100 per cent productivity while working one day less per week. Their pay will remain unchanged.
Brendan Burchell, a professor in social sciences at Cambridge University told ITV that the scheme has “tremendous potential” to transform conversations about the advantages of a shorter working week into discussions on how companies can implement it in their own workplaces.
With the social and environmental benefits of the shorter working week becoming clearer, grassroots support more widespread, and technology available to maintain productivity, the time has come for more organisations to take the leap and unravel the practicalities.
Brendan Burchell, a professor in social sciences at Cambridge University
Where has a shorter work week been successful?
Iceland
From 2015-2019 workplaces in Iceland ran two large-scale trials of a reduced working week from 40 hours to 35-36 hours, with no reduction in pay.
The trials – involving 2,500 employees – were deemed an “overwhelming success”, with 86 per cent of the country’s workforce now working shorter hours or being given the right to shorten their hours.
Importantly, the report found that productivity of employees remained the same or improved across most workplaces. Additionally, employees said their wellbeing and work-life balance had dramatically increased, with fewer instances of stress and burnout.
Lessons can be learned for other governments.
Will Stronge, director of research at Autonomy
Iceland has taken a big step towards the four-day working week, providing a great real-life example for Local Councils and those in the UK public sector considering implementing it here in the UK.
Source: The Independant
Published: 18th January 2022