Let's look at how it could become the norm in your workplace. How does it work ? What are the pros and cons ? And how do you maximise your chances of it being a success ?
The 4 day working week is based on the 100:80:100 model, where employees get 100% of the pay for 80%of the time, whilst maintaining 100% productivity. For most it means a shift away from counting 'hours worked' and a stronger focus on maximising the work that happens during those hours and when it works, it can bring many benefits to the workplace.
Productivity is maintained
Speak to most full time employees and they'll admit that there is downtime in their jobs ... maybe on a Friday afternoon when the phones are quiet, or a Monday morning when it can take a while to get into work mode, or a Wednesday (hump day) ... It's natural to have these ups and downs during a working week, we're not robots and in order to maintain productivity across 5 days, many of us need these rest periods. However if you consider a part time work pattern, employees have more time to rest and recover in between work days, which means they are able to focus and maintain productivity across their shorter week with less need for 'down time'. The principals ofthe 4-day work week are similar to the part time workers pattern, more rest and recovery means the work can get done in 4 days instead of 5, and crucially productivity is maintained.
Happier Workforce
An extra day to rest and recover from the working week has many benefits, from an increased focus when at work (as discussed above) to better health (less stress and need for sick days) and finally a feeling of being in better control of your work life balance. I guess we should caveat here that these can be the outcomes when a 4 day working week is implemented successfully, more on that later !
Equality in the workforce
Approximately 2 million British people aren't able to work because of childcare commitments and of that figure 89% are women. A 4 day working week (or perhaps a more flexible 9.30am - 2.30pm/5 days per week) can allow for better juggling of childcare and work, which in turn can lead to a more equal workforce where parental responsibility is shared more equally.
Smaller Carbon Footprint
One less day of commuting is always going to have a positive impact upon the environment, but consider if you're in the lucky position to actually be able to close your office one day a week? Not only are you helping to improve the air quality of your area by reducing commuting, you are also saving on your heating and electricity bills !
Making It Work
A crucial part of a successful 4 day work week is that employees only work 80% of the time. The temptation is to cram 5 days into 4 longer days but that can lead to increased stress levels and burnout. Therefore before embarking on a 4 day work week, it's very important to consider each job carefully and decide how tasks can be streamlined. Can chat bot technology be used to cover customer service ? Or are there jobs which could be automated, freeing up your team to concentrate on the more productive aspects of their role ? Consider it as a useful job evaluation - looking for ways to improve efficiency. Consider also the 80% of time split across 5 days instead of 4. This can be really useful for those who have childcare commitments (working 9.30am-2.30pm across 5 days)
