Working Four Days a Week can be Advantageous to Your Company

According to a study of the findings submitted to UK parliamentarians, 92% of companies that participated in the UK pilot program (56 out of 61) aim to keep the four-day work week, with 18 enterprises confirming the change as permanent.

A team of social scientists from the University of Cambridge collaborated with academics from Boston College in the United States and the think tank Autonomy to conduct research for the UK trials. The trial was organized by 4 Day Week Global in collaboration with the 4 Day Week Campaign in the United Kingdom.

Businesses from around the UK participated, with approximately 2,900 employees skipping a day of work. Organizations involved in the trial ranged from online retailers and financial service providers to animation studios and a local fish-and-chip shop.

Consultancy, housing, IT, skincare, recruiting, hotel marketing, and healthcare are among the other industries represented.

The Trial

Throughout the trial, researchers polled employees to assess the impact of having one extra day off. Across workforces, self-reported levels of worry and weariness reduced, while mental and physical health improved.

Several poll respondents claimed it was simpler to manage work with family and social obligations: 60% of employees found it simpler to balance a paid job with care obligations, and 62% found it easier to balance work and social life.

“Before the trial, many questioned whether we would see an increase in productivity to offset the reduction in working time—but this is exactly what we found,” said sociologist Prof. Brendan Burchell, who led the University of Cambridge side of the research.

“Many employees were very keen to find efficiency gains themselves. Long meetings with too many people were cut short or ditched completely. Workers were much less inclined to kill time and actively sought out technologies that improved their productivity.

Dr. David Frayne, a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, said: “We feel encouraged by the results, which showed the many ways companies were turning the four-day week from a dream into a realistic policy with multiple benefits.”

Four Day Week Campaign

Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, calls the results a “breakthrough moment” for the idea of shorter working weeks. “Across a wide variety of different sectors of the economy, these incredible results show that the four-day week works.”

In addition to the survey work, which was devised in partnership with colleagues such as Boston College’s Prof. Juliet Schor, the Cambridge team performed a huge number of in-depth interviews with employees and firm CEOs before, during, and after the six-month trial.

Previous four-day week Global pilots in the United States and Ireland, with research undertaken by many of the same researchers, have already revealed their findings. On the other hand, the UK study is not only the largest to date but also the first to contain in-depth interview research.

“The method of this pilot allowed our researchers to go beyond surveys and look in detail at how the companies were making it work on the ground,” said Frayne, from Cambridge’s Department of Sociology.

In terms of incentives, numerous senior executives told researchers that they considered the four-day week as a rational response to the pandemic and that it would offer them an advantage in hiring talent in the post-COVID employment market.

Some saw it as a more enticing option than unfettered home working, which they felt jeopardized business culture. Some had witnessed colleagues suffer from health issues and bereavement during the pandemic and felt a greater “moral duty” to them. “I hated the pandemic, but it’s made us see each other much more in the round, and it’s made us all realize the importance of having a healthy head and that family matters,” said the CEO of a non-profit organization that took part in the trial.

Shorter hours, however, were debated long before COVID as a response to stressful or emotionally tiring work, according to many. As a motivation for participating in the trial, the CEO of a video game studio cited high-profile cases of “crunch and burnout” in their business.

Surprisingly, no organization interviewed participated in the trials only because technology had reduced their need for human labor.

A midweek day off meant savings on daycare costs for some parents with young children. That meant some much-needed “me time” for those with older children. Everyone reported doing more of the things they currently enjoy, such as sports, cooking, music, and volunteering. Others used the time to pursue professional qualifications, while others pursued new interests.

“When you realize that day has allowed you to be relaxed and rested and ready to go for it on those other four days, you start to realize that to go back to working on a Friday would feel wrong – stupid, actually,” said the CEO of a consulting organization involved in the trial.

Work Place Culture

When it came to workplace culture, employees were generally positive, reflecting a shared sense of purpose stemming from attempts to make the four-day week a success.

Nonetheless, numerous employees at one large company voiced concern about increasing workloads, while some at creative firms expressed concern about diminished worktime conviviality owing to “concentration time,” arguing that unstructured discussion often creates new ideas.

By the end of the six-month trial, several managers said they couldn’t envision working a five-day week again. “Nearly everyone we interviewed mentioned being inundated with requests from other organizations in their field that want to follow suit,” Burchell said.

“When we ask employers, a lot of them are convinced the four-day week is going to happen.” It has been uplifting for me, just talking to so many upbeat people over the last six months.
“A four-day week means a better working life and family life for so many people.”

Source: Medindia