Introduction

4-day work week catching up: London-based companies are currently driving the trend, making up 59 per cent of all companies that permit a four-day workweek. In a landmark move reinventing the working week in the United Kingdom, at least 200 British companies have signed up for a permanent four-day working week for all their employees without any loss of pay. Organizations reported worker well-being improves and productivity increases — so the companies are getting happier, healthier employees. The shift appears to be trending elsewhere.

What the official ‘4 Day Week Foundation’ has said?

According to the UK’s independent national campaign for a four-day working week, namely, 4 Day Week Foundation, these 200 businesses employ more than 5,000 people, with marketing and technology industries having the largest representation. “nine to five, five-day working week was invented 100 years ago and is no longer fit for purpose. We are long overdue an update,” said the foundation campaign’s director, Joe Ryle to The Guardian. “50 per cent more free time in a four-day week gives people the freedom to live happier, more fulfilling lives. As 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 both workers and employers, he added.

Tech and Marketing Sectors Driving the Change

Approximately 30 marketing, advertising, and public relations companies were the first to go ahead with this change. 24 technology, IT, and software companies, as well as 29 organisations based in the social care, charity, and NGO sectors, followed suit. As per a report by The Guardian, 22 more businesses in the management, consultancy, and business sectors later followed suit and gave their employees four-day work weeks on a permanent basis. 200 businesses have apparently reaffirmed their commitment to shorter workweeks, with proponents arguing that this is a practical strategy for luring and keeping workers and boosting productivity by producing the same results in fewer hours.

The Research and the Testing

Two years after participating in a groundbreaking four-day work week experiment, 200 companies in the UK have chosen to adopt the policy permanently, marking a significant shift in workplace norms. By continuing the policy, as many as 5,000 employees at those companies will work one day less a week with no reduction in pay. The pilot program was conducted by the nonprofit 4 Day Week Global, the UK’s 4 Day Week Campaign and Autonomy, a think tank. It guided the companies and their workers through a six-month test of a 32-hour, four-day week. Including a previous study of companies in US and Ireland. Boston College Professor Juliet Schor, the lead researcher in the 4-Day Work Week study, said she was not surprised the companies continued their truncated schedules, as almost all of the firms in the study reported positive results.

Other Views

However, companies like Amazon and JPMorgan Chase continue to mandate their employees to work in person for five days a week. Even in India, some of the famous corporate leaders have been advocating longer work hours, which sparked debates and drew a lot of flak. It all started when Infosys founder Naryana Murthy suggested young citizens work 70-hour workweeks for the nation to progress. L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan added fuel to the fire, advocating a 90-hour workweek, whose remark met with severe criticism. Critics argue that such remarks and policies undermine the importance of work-life balance and can adversely impact the mental and emotional well-being of a worker.

Young workers demand change

According to a Spark Market Research study, young people are more likely to rebel against established work hours. Lynsey Carolan, the Spark managing director, said, “18-34 (year olds), the core workforce of the next 50 years, are making their feelings known that they don’t intend to go back to old-fashion working patterns. This group also say that mental health and improving their overall well-being are their top priorities, so a four-day week is a really meaningful benefit and a key enabler of their overall quality of life.”

In the United Kingdom, over 78 per cent of people aged 18 to 34 think that a four-day workweek would become the standard in five years, while 65 per cent indicated they do not want to see a full-time “work from office” system. The pandemic in 2020 also primarily resulted in propelling more workplaces to switch to a ‘work from home’ system, especially in countries such as India. Several senior Labour party members, including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, supported the idea of a four-day workweek. However, the party has not officially adopted the policy since assuming office last year.

Conclusion

One need to think of it, what a great move it is. Isn’t it? This move will benefit the professionals, as they will get more free time to spend with their friends, family and focus on their overall well-being. Also, it will in turn benefit companies also, as professionals will come to work with a renewed vigour and a sense of understanding that their company cares for them. This will result in better productivity and accelerated growth. It also gives one the food for thought that the best way to incentivise professionals is giving them a healthy work-life balance. We all hear of reports that suggest that a hefty paycheck is not enough to bait the employees into working to their optimum capacity.

It goes without saying that more and more professionals will be interested in joining such workplaces that are more output-driven and don’t really care about the number of hours a professional puts in. A lot of leaders who advocate for 70-hour or 90-hour work week will definitely be surprised after reading this news report. However, what they really should be doing is take a lesson from this move and understand that it’s not the number of hours, but right environment, work-life balance, clearly-defined goals that help professionals achieve their full potential.

What do you think of this move? Let us know.