The four-day week sounds great – but we need the private sector on board for it to work
There’s something rather frustrating about hailing the success of four-day week trials knowing full well that you’ll probably never experience it. The reality is that flexible working practices such as these simply might not work in certain industries – and there’s nothing wrong with that.
But for those who can secure better working arrangements, we should still be pushing our support.
If workers in the early 20th century had been throwing tantrums over their counterparts at another factory or industrial site getting improved conditions, we’d all still be contending with miserable working hours and dangerous environments.
A ‘pull the ladder up, Jack’ mentality does no-one any favors and will only reinforce the status-quo.
The rise of the four-day week has long been touted as a means to improve work-life balance, and by all accounts the trials we’ve seen so far show it certainly delivers in this regard.
Long-running pilot schemes in Iceland, for example, have led to widespread adoption of this working practice. And the positive impact on workers has been profound. Workforce efficiency actually improved, with participating staff noting that the improved work-life balance made them more productive.
Business leaders the world over have been complaining about a so-called nosedive in productivity since the pandemic, while conveniently forgetting the record profits. And although this has largely been focused around the supposed pitfalls of remote and hybrid work, the reality is that a happy workforce is a productive one.
Similar trials in the UK have also delivered positive results, with a six-month trial ending in 2023 having resulted in a whopping 92% of firms choosing to keep reduced hours.
All told, these trials saw a 71% decrease in burnout, which has been plaguing overworked and increasingly wary workforces across a range of industries.
Sick days dropped by 65%, and crucially, a reduction in workforce churn proved to be among the most impactful results of the scheme, with a 57% in resignations throughout the trial period.
The key thing to remember about many of these trials however, especially the Iceland scheme, is that they’ve largely been isolated to the public sector and local authorities.
A common recurring theme in the aftermath of most trials is that those coordinating them have called for great adoption in the private sector, which at present doesn’t appear keen on the concept.
That’s not to say there are no private sector organizations following this setup though. A significant portion of UK firms have already switched to this approach, according to the 4 Day Week campaign.
Similarly, a research paper from Autonomy, which led a four-day week scheme in the UK, noted that the expansion of private and third sector trials in recent years is helping to “cement the business case” for shorter working hours.
It’s a step in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go.
In the tech sector specifically, there’s probably a lot more work to be done on this front. Especially when major industry players are mandating a return to the office five days a week.
After all, the logic behind widespread RTO mandates and the return to the 9-5 grind is based around the idea that productivity has dipped, and will only improve once everyone is back in their sterile booths and open-plan office spaces.
At least they have espresso machines and ping pong tables, though. Some are even offering discounted prices on hotels located on campus to keep the creative juices flowing and alleviate the burden of commuting.
There have been some shining examples of the four-day week proving beneficial in the tech sector, however. In 2019, a trial scheme for Microsoft workers in Japan once again showed promise.
The scheme was found to have markedly improved workforce productivity and sales surged by around 40% during the trial, which saw offices closed every Friday.
For widespread adoption of a four-day week, it’s clear the tech sector may need major industry players to take the plunge and set a precedent for the entire ecosystem. Until then, many will continue lambasting staff for trying to cling onto what little work-life balance they still have.
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