Fancy a 4 day week?
With all the bank holiday’s this month, we thought it was a good time to look into the pros and cons of a 4 day week. It’s a hot topic at the moment and so what’s the evidence behind the movement that’s challenging the traditional 9 to 5, 5 day working week? And what are the realities?
Studies in Sweden in 2015 have shown the benefits of a 4 day week, and similar findings have been shown in a more recent study, which took place in the UK from June to December 2022.
With 61 organisations taking part, including around 2,900 workers, 92% said they would be continuing with the four-day week after the pilot.
Some of the benefits reported suggest that shorter working hours enhance employee wellbeing, with 39% of employees being less stressed and 71% having reduced levels of burnout. Additionally, levels of anxiety, fatigue, and sleep issues decreased, while mental and physical health both improved.
Some other key statistics were:
54%, said it was easier to balance work with household jobs.
60% of employees found an increased ability to combine paid work with care responsibilities.
62% reported it was easier to combine work with social life.
Staff retention also improved with the number of staff leaving dropping by 57% over the trial period. This is significant given the difficulties recruiting and retaining people.
Not only that, organisations reported revenue increases of 35% on average when compared with a similar period in previous years.
So what about your business? When we ask the question we get varied responses! From ‘we couldn’t possibly do that, we've got a business to run and too much to do!’, to ‘that would be great, 3 day weekends, woohoo!’, and ‘maybe we should look into it’, it certainly gets an instant reaction!
Working across a variety of organisations, we realise that a 4 day working week may not be possible for every business and in some cases it might cause increased stress and anxiety. However, with the prospects of a better work-life balance, more flexibility and no loss in revenue, it’s certainly interesting to consider.
As with anything in business, it can be helpful to ask: what are the opportunities for me here? Are there commercial benefits? Would this benefit my people?
We can help businesses looking to transform their organisation, and their people. If you’d like to arrange a free consultation with one of our experts, get in touch by emailing phil@bluetreeconsulting.net.