Is the four day working week really here to stay?

A couple of years ago we featured an article So how would you like to work a four-day week? The article explained that a six month global experiment was to take place to understand the impact of working four-days a week instead of five. 

There are two possible ways a four-day working week could operate. The first is to compress the hours worked in a five-day week into a four-day week, meaning longer working days. The second involves working fewer hours than the traditional five-day week but with no reduction in employee pay. 

The 2022 experiment took the second approach i.e. employees received 100% of their pay for 80% of the time, and in return were expected to maintain 100% productivity i.e. achieve the same amount of work over shorter working hours.

Around 70 companies and 3300 employees in the UK took part in this experiment in 2022, in companies including software developers, recruitment firms, charities, a brewery and a local fish and chip shop. Similar experiments were also held in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada. 

But what has happened since then? Is the four-day working week here to stay?

In this article we look at:

• The latest developments in the four-day working week;
• The pros and cons of a four-day working week;
• How to change from a five day to four-day working week.

The latest developments in the four-day working week

The official 4 Day Week Campaign is led by Campaign Director Joe Ryle. According to him, “hundreds of British companies and one local council have already shown a four-day week with no loss of pay can be a win-win for workers and employers”. 

The 4 Day Week Campaign said that at least 54 of the 61 companies that participated in the original 2022 project have maintained the four-day week since then. This autumn there is to be another project to build on the original 2022 trial. Employers will experiment with flexible start and finish times, a nine-day fortnight, and compressed hours – working 35-40 hours over 4 days – with no loss of pay. It is hoped that around 50 companies and 3,000 employees will take part.

The pros and cons of a four-day working week

As with any change, there are potential pros and cons. The 4 Day Week campaign is convinced that it is a good thing, and their long term goal is to transform the entire economy. In their view, change is long overdue : it has been over 100 years since the UK moved from a six to five-day working week. According to Joe Ryle, the objective of changing to a four-day week is to “improve work/life balance, and general employee performance”.

Some of the pros and cons that have arisen so far with the four-day working week are:

• The advantages of a four-day week

  • Working parents enjoy having more time to spend with their children and also save money on childcare;
  • Many employees feel a greater sense of wellbeing from the improved work-life balance. 71% had reduced levels of burnout, and 39% less stress. This in turn results in less time being taken off sick.
  • Employees who have commitments or passions outside work can spend more time and energy on these, for example caring for elderly relatives, sport or some kind of creative sideline.
  • Many employees are more productive over a shorter time span, enabling them to do just as much work in four days as in five.
  • A shorter working week and happier working environment could potentially lead to lower unemployment and fewer staff shortages. One survey reported that 68% of companies offering a four-day week said flexible working helped them attract talent.
  • Commuting for four days rather than five reduces the carbon footprint of employees. Research has shown that a four-day week could reduce the UK’s carbon footprint by 127 million tonnes per year : the equivalent of taking 27 million cars off the road.
  • If a business was able to close completely for an extra day each week, they could see a reduction in costs, for example energy bills, food costs, and office maintenance.

• The disadvantages of a four-day week

• • It can be challenging – particularly for small businesses – to work around multiple variations of working hours. And those who are not working a four-day week can feel the impact of colleagues starting to work different schedules.

• • A four-day week would not work for some businesses. There are many business sectors that do need to be staffed 24-7, such as emergency services, hospitality, public transport, logistics, telecommunications etc. Businesses such as these would need to establish a completely new shift pattern to ensure the level of staffing they need.

• • Customer satisfaction could drop for businesses operating a four-day week. Despite the benefits of technology, there are many situations when a personal response is needed and customers may become frustrated if this is lacking. A recent study showed that 75% of UK companies not implementing a four-day week were concerned about how customer satisfaction would be affected if they did.

How to change from a five-day to four-day working week

Since April 2024, all employees have had the right to request flexible working. You can do this at any time, including as soon as you start a new job. 

And this doesn’t just apply to a four-day week. You can specify – in what is known as making a statutory application – the working arrangement that you would ideally like to have. For example:

• the number of hours worked;
• starting or finishing time;
• the days worked;
• the location(s) worked.

Your employer is not legally obliged to agree to your request, but must deal with it in a reasonable manner. This includes making a fair assessment of the advantages and disadvantages from their point of view, and discussing possible alternatives to the request with you. They should also offer you an appeal process if your request is not agreed.

So if you would like to work a four-day week, or some other more flexible working arrangement, don’t wait to be asked, but set the wheels in motion to make it happen.

We hope that this article provides helpful information about where things are at in the UK with the four-day week, and how to start progressing a more flexible working arrangement that fits with your own personal circumstances.. 

Remember to check back in with us here again soon for more lifestyle and financial tips from new direct lenders Munzee Loans.