The United Kingdom has finally published a long-awaited study on the four-day workweek. From June to December 2022, 2900 employees from 61 companies tested out this dream lifestyle.
The study asked participating organizations, the majority of which consist of under 100 employees, to reduce working hours significantly without reducing pay. Working less and not touching salaries, and offering fewer customer-facing or operational hours, these daring businesses took this risk for the length of this study. Some of course opted for the three-day weekend with Fridays off, while others offered reduced hours throughout the week or extended breaks. Each company participated in its own way, as long as the hours corresponded to four full workdays instead of five.
The observation? Across all company sectors and sizes, revenues remained unaffected. Slight increases were even seen. This led to 92% of employers stating that they won’t go back and will retain this model.
On the employee side, 71% stated that their burnout levels fell considerably. A vast array of roles was represented: from carpenters to journalists to policymakers. Even part-timers were taken into account in this equation, either with a prorated reduction in hours or an equivalent salary increase.
A super interesting fact: employees agreed not to use this extra time to work a second job. The goal being quality of life, stress reduction, and a better work–life balance, this study sought to ensure that each participant experienced this pilot test optimally. The statistics on improved quality of life proved that this was worth the trouble. The CEO of a participating consulting firm said, “When you realize that the day off allowed you to be relaxed and rested and ready to tackle the other four days, you start to realize that returning to work on Fridays would be really bad – stupid, in fact.” Could we FINALLY be revamping the work models that date back to the industrial revolution?
The cherry on top: this trial showed a reduction in resignations and recruitment needs due to lowered absenteeism. It was even a way to bring people into the office, to uphold company culture. What would you think about coming to the office two days a week if the schedule changed to four days a week? Something to consider. In this era of staff shortages, this should resonate with many.
So, where could it all fall apart? With these three phrases: “it’s impossible for us,” “our industry doesn’t allow it,” and “our clients need us all week.”
No one knows the nature of the work to be done better than the employees in question. They must be given the opportunity to propose a plan for it to work. How can their role change for this to become possible? How can this idea be reconciled with business needs? Is a randomized day off or a reduction in daily hours the key? Or perhaps matching pairs?
At sept24, several of our employees already have personalized schedules: four-day weeks, sabbatical summers, flexi-study, and summer hours. You can talk to Gab about the six months he spent in Chili, Myriam who takes March off to work at her family’s maple farm, Amélie who went back to university, or Sarah-Jade who finishes at noon on Friday. For us, there isn’t one model that works for everyone, so we chose flexibility. However, this study has inspired us to do more, and do better. How about you?
Do you want to talk and approach this in the employee experience perspective? Take a look over here: https://dev.sept24.com/en/expertise/hr-marketing/
Source: https://autonomy.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/The-results-are-in-The-UKs-four-day-week-pilot.pdf
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