Companies across the world are looking into how they can improve employee retention, increase satisfaction and reduce staff turnover. One of the options that’s being trialled and implemented in lots of countries is the introduction of a four day working week.
It’s said that a four day week increases employee satisfaction, company commitment and improves teamwork. It also reduces stress levels and gives employees more ‘down time.’ Another plus is that even though employees’ work schedules in trials have been reduced, it doesn’t seem to have harmed their productivity.
One of the leading countries in this new way of working is Iceland. Iceland's trials, run between 2015 and 2019, were hailed as overwhelmingly successful. 1.3% of the working population in Iceland took part in the trial and this led to a change in working practices country-wide.
The trial revealed that reducing the working week through flexible working, improved employee wellbeing. It was reported that employees suffered less stress and a reduction in ‘burn out.’ It was also reported that productivity stayed the same, or, in some cases, increased.
The results lead to Icelandic trade unions putting pressure on the government to change working practices in the country.
86% of workers in Iceland now have the right to work shorter weeks.
In June 2022, a six-month trial being run by researchers at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities in conjunction with Boston College, will trial a four day work week in the UK. As of early April 2022, 60 companies with over 3000 employees had signed up to take part in the trial. The purpose of the trial is to study the impact of shorter working hours on businesses’ productivity. It will also monitor the wellbeing of company employees and assess the impact on the environment and gender equality.
In 2020, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, suggested employers consider a four day working week and other flexible working options. A New Zealand company, Perpetual Gardens, had been working a 4 day week since 2018. In their roles, employees were paid the same as if they were working five days a week. They trialled a four day working week over a six-week period before implementing the policy company-wide. During their trial, they found that productivity increased by 20%.
Andrew Barnes, founder of Perpetual Guardian, said the trial and subsequent implementation was “not just having a day off a week – it’s about delivering productivity, and meeting customer service standards, meeting personal and team business goals and objectives.”
A strong argument for change is that the UK works some of the longest hours in Europe. These longer working hours have a marked impact on our public health in comparison with other European countries. A quarter of sick days taken in the UK is attributed to employees being overworked. This will also have an impact on productivity statistics.
Let’s look at some of the pros and cons that should be considered by companies who are thinking of letting employees work four days a week.
Pros of a four day working week:
- Employees work four days of the same length as before, they are not compressing the hours from five days in to four. This gives employees a better work/life balance, giving them more time for relaxation, spending with their friends and family and for leisure activities
- Productivity is said to stay the same or increase so that the company is not impacted
- Companies are attracting high-quality new talent. They’re demonstrating their company values by looking after their employees and considering their wellbeing, which is reflected in the calibre of new applicants and appointees
- The number of sick days declines with this flexible working. In a trial in Sweden between 2015 and 2019, nurses in a care home reduced their working hours to 30 hours over a four day working week. This resulted in better health for the nurses, better engagement with their patients and a reduction in the amount of time lost to ill-health
- Improved environmental benefit. Employees do not need to commute to work as often, reducing their carbon footprint which benefits the environment
Cons of a four day working week:
- A four day working week should not be confused with compressing five days hours into four days. In trials, when this happened, productivity decreased
- It can be costly. Implementing a four day working week can be difficult as it requires the right support, technology and workplace culture. Setting up the logistics can be time-consuming and pricey, so there needs to be an excellent case for increased productivity to counteract the initial set up cost
- Customer service can be impacted if a four day working is not implemented properly. Business can’t just work Monday to Thursday with everyone having a long weekend from Thursday night to Monday morning. Customers need attention on a Friday too, so it’s important to get the right cover and work schedule in place to make sure customers are not affected
To move to a four day working week, companies must have a good business case and have the infrastructure in place to support the change. When a workplace moves to fewer hours, working practices often need to adjust. It’s not just about changing the working schedules and rotas. It might mean altering shift patterns, but also might mean a culture change, such as cutting down on meetings or eliminating unnecessary tasks from people’s schedules. This would certainly allow for greater productivity if managed right.
Sarah Rayment, Head of Operations at PayCaptain, works her hours flexibly.
At PayCaptain, we're fully remote and offer flexibility in our working hours. All employees can work their hours at any time, from anywhere, as long as they can be productive individually and as a team. I personally benefit from this policy by dedicating Fridays to my children and working my hours throughout the rest of the week. I have never worked for a company who allow this amount of flexible working and it’s such a breath of fresh air to be able to work around personal commitments.
In summary, there are some strong arguments for reducing working days from five to four. It's recognised that employees benefit from more leisure time which has a positive impact on their health and wellbeing, as well as increasing their productivity when they're at work. Companies wanting to implement a four day working week must plan their scheduling to make sure their customer service is not impacted. They also need to manage the transition to a four day week through planning and changes to company culture and processes.
To learn more about how PayCaptain payroll software can help your business and improve the financial well-being of your employees, please contact us for an informal, no-obligation chat. We’ll be happy to demo our HMRC recognised outsourced payroll for you.
