Reviews this week (27 January 2025) reveal that 200 UK firms have signed as much as a everlasting four-day working week, the place staff can work for at some point much less with no loss in pay.
Right here’s a breakdown of a number of the firms who’ve signed up:
- 30 promoting, PR and advertising corporations
- 29 organisations in charity, NGO and social care
- 24 in know-how, IT and software program
- 22 corporations in enterprise, consulting and administration sector
- 59 of the businesses are London-based, the most important regional contingent
In response to the information, George Holmes, managing director of Aurora Capital, displays on how the four-day week generally is a recreation changer for UK small companies:
“For SMEs, it provides a chance to degree the enjoying subject with bigger employers by offering a profit that resonates strongly with staff prioritising work-life steadiness.
“Whereas smaller companies might not be capable of compete on salaries, they are often way more agile and versatile than large companies. This implies they’ll appeal to the very best candidates who worth flexibility and wellbeing by providing progressive working patterns like a four-day week. This shift isn’t nearly preserving staff pleased—it may be a strong technique to construct loyalty and cut back turnover.
“Nevertheless, adopting a four-day week requires cautious planning to keep up productiveness and profitability. It’s a daring transfer, however for SMEs prepared to assume creatively, it’s an opportunity to redefine the way in which they appeal to, retain, and empower their groups.”
An increasing number of discuss of the four-day working week
To be able to strengthen worker rights, we might be seeing much more battle for the four-day working week. Labour wish to introduce a four-day working week with no consideration, accessible from day one, however they haven’t dedicated to it of their management up to now.
There may be proof pointing in the direction of a four-day work week’s efficacy for worker wellbeing, productiveness and stress ranges. A lot of the UK firms that took half within the worldwide four-day working week trial (54 out of 61 firms) again in 2022 have made it everlasting. Over half (55 per cent) of venture managers and CEOs stated that transfer had a optimistic impact on the organisation. A sizeable 82 per cent stated it had a optimistic impression on employees wellbeing, 50 per cent stated it decreased employees turnover and 32 per cent stated it improved employees recruitment.
Throughout the six international locations that trialled the scheme, 63 per cent of firms discovered it simpler to draw expertise and 64 per cent reported a discount in burnout. Henley Enterprise College say that taking part companies cited financial savings of £92 million (round 2 per cent of turnover) per yr.
Nevertheless, the identical report says that 73 per cent of companies would discover a four-day working week too sophisticated to handle. Most of those companies (82 per cent) say that being accessible to clients is their greatest barrier in implementing the four-day week. Limitations in working with different international locations, particularly in the event that they function on five-day work weeks, was additionally a priority.
One other trial is at the moment underway, made up of 1,000 UK staff. It’s unclear how lengthy it’s going to be, however the 4 Day Week marketing campaign will likely be exhibiting its newest findings to the federal government in summer time 2025.
As of December 2024, greater than 190 firms within the UK have been providing a four-day work week on full pay.
Firms run by youthful owner-managers are extra open to the thought, as are companies with 50 or extra staff. Firms who’ve seen development of their backside line previously three years are extra open to the thought too.
We’ll be wanting on the professionals and cons and the practicalities of implementing a four-day working week in your enterprise.
Learn on for the complete information or bounce to the sections you’re most fascinated by:
- How does the four-day working week function?
- What are the advantages of a 4-day working week?
- What concerning the disadvantages?
- Firms which have carried out the 4-day working week
How does the four-day working week function?
The concept of a four-day working week is a discount in hours to replicate the smaller variety of days. Some argue that this construction may work as the identical variety of hours executed over fewer days. This is called a compressed week.
For the needs of this text, the week should be decreased to 32 hours – eight hours over 4 days – with the identical pay. It’s extra of a transition than a change. “It’s very a lot about working time discount. We’re additionally speaking a few transition in the direction of shorter hours, not an in a single day change,” stated Aidan Harper, researcher on the New Economics Basis.
“The best way I’ve seen folks ‘fail’ in implementing a four-day week is when it hasn’t actually been a real discount in working hours. They usually’ve tried to squeeze all their work hours into it, in order that finally ends up messing with folks’s childcare routines and results in exhaustion within the week.”
The additional ‘break day’ is the place there may be extra flexibility. Companies may go for a blanket break day for all of their employees – say they’ve a Friday off and have an extended weekend – or they might take a day mid-week. Others let employees select which day they’d wish to take off and organise their operations round that. The enterprise stays open Monday-Friday.
What are the advantages of a 4-day working week?
Some who’ve trialled and carried out a four-day working week have revered the change for plenty of causes, so let’s break them down.
Productiveness
Productiveness is likely one of the first – and most compelling – causes that firms make the transition.
When taking a look at this desk from Time, Norway, Demark and the Netherlands are productive international locations with working hours of round 27 hours apiece. Japan charges at 20 out of 35, regardless of working notoriously lengthy hours.
Microsoft Japan tried the four-day working week and productiveness went off 40 per cent, New Zealand-based Perpetual Backyard had a rise of 20 per cent and UK-based MRL Recruitment stated their trial elevated productiveness by 25 per cent.
Happier staff
Analysis from Henley Enterprise College signifies that employees at companies with a four-day week are 78 per cent happier and 62 per cent took fewer sick days.
It additionally decreases stress ranges. Employees at Perpetual Guardian reported a 7 per cent lower in stress after shifting to a four-day week.
Extra workforce inclusive
Having extra versatile working practices provides alternatives to potential staff with caring and different obligations.
What’s extra, it may assist to paved the way for higher gender equality. “Historical past can be decided by the thought of male breadwinner within the manufacturing unit within the Nineteen Fifties. The working week advanced out of that. That was when the working week itself was knowledgeable by a really patriarchal, outdated, outmoded model of labor. We’ve moved past that,” stated Harper.
“Half-time work is overwhelmingly prone to be low, paid, insecure and supply few alternatives for development. And also you’d usually get people who find themselves overqualified doing roles. So if an organisation desires to draw these folks to make it fairer, they must be open to opening up making part-time a brand new full-time to take away this bottleneck of expertise into the organisations.”
Improves employees recruitment and retention
Versatile working may enhance employees retention and appeal to new expertise. Not solely will or not it’s extra interesting to staff who need versatile working, but it surely’s an amazing perk for individuals who wish to pursue a separate ardour.
A examine from TopCV revealed that just about one-third of UK jobseekers rank a four-day working week as their high precedence for his or her subsequent function. This was intently adopted by a complete change of profession or business (29 per cent) and an organisation dedicated to equality, variety and inclusion (19 per cent).
Discussing the findings, Amanda Augustine, careers skilled at TopCV, commented: ‘The occasions over the previous yr have prompted many professionals to re-evaluate their priorities, significantly in the case of their profession and the kind of organisation they wish to work for.”
Holding staff on for longer saves you numerous money and time in recruiting and onboarding new employees.
Extra environmentally pleasant
As a result of much less energy being utilized in workplaces and fewer emissions from commuting, a four-day working may result in a smaller carbon footprint. The two,063 respondents in Henley Enterprise College’s analysis estimated that they might drive 588m miles much less per week if it was decreased to 4 working days.
Spending extra time at work and a typically faster-paced mindset may end up in a better consumption life-style, as Harper explains. “For instance, it will possibly imply driving as a substitute of strolling or biking, or having a rushed, frozen, energy-intensive meal put in microwave, relatively than cooking with selfmade substances.”
What concerning the disadvantages?
Nevertheless, it’s finest to think about your companies wants earlier than you go forward.
Prospects/shoppers might not just like the change and go together with a competitor
Should you go for the blanket ‘break day’ method and shut your enterprise for an additional day, clients might not realise that they’ll’t pay money for you that day. If their enquiry is pressing or they get irritated that you simply’re not accessible, they might go to another person.
It’s not appropriate for each enterprise
Some companies aren’t suited to the four-day working week. You’ll want the precise help, know-how and office tradition to ensure that it to be successful. This might contain spending more money on automation, outsourcing and/or HR platforms.
London’s Wellcome Belief determined to scrap its trial as a result of it was ‘too operationally advanced to implement’ for its 800 employees.
Treehouse, an HR agency within the US, dropped its four-day week because it was struggling to maintain up with opponents.
What’s extra, the sooner analysis from Henley Enterprise College exhibits that 45 per cent of staff would fear about being perceived as lazy by colleagues and over a 3rd (35 per cent) can be involved in the event that they needed to hand over their work to colleagues.
>See additionally: Is a 4 day working week actually a boon for productiveness and employees wellbeing?
Operations could also be troublesome if in case you have completely different working constructions occurring
If everyone’s days off are on completely different days, then some might really feel stress to work on ‘off days’ attributable to completely different schedules. Even when they don’t, not having employees in might disturb deadlines.
“Should you change one particular person’s routine, you could discover that it has an impression on one other group. There might not have been a realisation concerning the interconnectivity inside a office between groups and people and the knock-on results of that,” stated Harper.
Not cost-effective
A paper by Jethro Elsden, information analyst on the Centre for Coverage Research, exhibits {that a} four-day week can be pricey for the financial system. Primarily based on present productiveness ranges, the measure would price £45bn. Even with ‘beneficiant’ productiveness positive factors, estimates recommend that it might nonetheless price £17bn.
Firms which have carried out the 4-day working week
That is all positive in idea, but it surely’s extra helpful to listen to the experiences of companies which have tried it themselves. That’s why we requested three companies how the four-day working week goes for them.
Synergy Imaginative and prescient
Ffyona Dawber, CEO of Synergy Imaginative and prescient, talks about why she moved the medical comms enterprise to a four-day mannequin and the way the corporate has executed it.
What made you take into account the four-day working week?
Properly, I’d learn some stuff on it in, I feel it was Scandinavia, they have been doing it. I put it to the board, I assumed possibly that is one thing they’d be fascinated by. I have to admit, once I put it to the board, I assumed they’d say no means.
At that time, we have been doing a 40-hour week, they usually talked about decreasing it to 37.5 hours. I stated, ‘Properly, how about we cut back it additional and do it over 4 days?’ Amazingly, everybody stated, ‘Wow, that sounds actually fascinating. Why don’t we have a look at that?’ So we determined to do it on a trial.
My husband is Dutch. In Holland, they’ve a – it’s not formal – they usually have a ‘daddy day’ or ‘papa day’ which is often a Friday when the dads choose the children up from college, as a result of they’re not working 5 days per week. I assumed, ‘This looks like a pleasant tradition, a pleasant technique to do it’.
How did it begin?
Once we began it, we did a trial. The surveys have been very optimistic that individuals have been discovering they have been in a position to do now. We thought we’d ask folks within the surveys what they might do with their non-working day. They usually all initially stated they’ll begin a pastime or go play golf or tennis or one thing like that. The truth of what really occurred is folks did numerous life admin on their regular working day, but it surely meant then their weekends have been free to different stuff. Yeah, so it wasn’t as thrilling within the surveys as we thought it was going to be, however folks cherished it.
No one wished to show again, everybody stated they have been happier. We did a happiness index. We did a piece life steadiness index, folks felt that the place work wasn’t interfering as a lot on their private life because it had executed beforehand and vice versa. So it felt just like the steadiness was proper.
You’ve even had a Masterchef contestant (Jasmeet Dial) within the firm!
That’s why he did it, as a result of they did two days of filming per week. He did one of many days of filming on a non-working day.
How does it work – does everybody have the identical break day?
We did discuss how to do that. Will we as an organization of about 50 folks on the time, do we are saying that, ‘Such and such has to have this break day and such and such has to have this break day’, as a result of we’re nonetheless open 5 days per week, and shoppers want to have the ability to contact us 5 days per week.
We would have liked to make certain that every venture would cowl 5 days per week, so that you wouldn’t have everybody from our venture group taking Friday off. So we talked about whether or not we should always mandate which days after which it felt like a logistical nightmare, , to attempt to work out who was engaged on what, what shoppers labored, and it simply appeared like a nightmare.
What we ended up doing was we put it to the group. As a substitute, you’ve bought to determine amongst yourselves what days you’re having off. So clearly, everybody can’t at all times have Friday off. So that you’ve bought two folks in a group. They usually each wish to have a Friday off. Fridays, Mondays and Wednesdays are positively the most well-liked days.
‘No one wished to show again, everybody stated they have been happier’
So we left it as much as everybody to do themselves as a result of we didn’t should type out the logistics.
How have you ever managed completely different days off?
We really needed to go together with an exterior HR system. And I’m so glad we did. For the primary two months of the trial, we didn’t have the system – we used Excel, and that was actually exhausting.
The best way that we had to try this was for holidays and financial institution holidays, we needed to depend hours as a substitute of days. Properly, it’s not your commonplace 5 day working week, which is what the HR system was arrange for.
Have you ever seen folks really feel stress to work on their ‘off’ days?
Some must work on their ‘off’ days but it surely was very uncommon. We usually ebook it a month upfront. So we attempt to get the calendar updated a month beforehand.
We did numerous conferences for shoppers and that type of factor. So conferences often run over a Friday, Saturday, Sunday. They are usually on the weekend to get the utmost variety of folks. And in these circumstances, folks must work. And if that they had a shopper assembly on a Friday, in order that they needed to work a traditional week and even over the weekend, what we do is allow them to take the additional days again in lieu inside a month, so they might take it again. Nevertheless it was uncommon that that occurs, to be sincere. Usually what folks would do is, in the event that they have been flying on Thursday, they take the Wednesday off simply to get stuff executed.
If we had the pliability to permit it, should you weren’t in a position to take it at some point, you would take it inside the subsequent month. And we stated ‘inside the subsequent month’, as a result of what you don’t need is folks simply preserve working 5 days and preserve working 5 days, you need them to make use of up the time without work to get the break.
How did shoppers reply to the transfer?
Most of them have been receptive. We had in all probability one or two I can consider – one particularly – who didn’t like the thought. The primary couple of weeks he was phoning up each single day of the week to provide a bit bit extra info on what he wished executed on a venture, we felt like he was simply testing to examine it was the 5 days per week, however that settled down after a month as nicely and he bought used to it.
All the opposite shoppers cherished it. And it was one of many large pharma firms who got here to us and stated, ‘That is wonderful, we’d love to take a look at doing it.’
Are there any sectors the place you’re feeling this mannequin wouldn’t work?
I feel should you’re working with shoppers, or working externally, on this planet the place they’ve a five-day working week, you do want somebody to cowl stuff the 5 days.
Should you’ve bought 5 or extra folks, you would possibly be capable of make it work. The issue then comes that we had on the time, our design group was solely two folks (it’s 5 now), however on the time, it was fairly small. Once you’ve solely bought two folks in a single group, it turns into an issue when one in every of them goes on vacation as a result of, after all, you continue to have regular holidays. So ,if one goes on vacation, after which the opposite one’s nonetheless doing a four-day working week, you’ve bought at some point per week when there’s no person there. So in that case, we’ve to get a freelancer in. We all know upfront when the vacations have been booked and we get a freelancer in a few Fridays or the Monday when the opposite particular person was going to be off.
I suppose there are additional issues there with useful resource and a smaller enterprise might not having the money circulate to have the ability to negotiate that.
Yeah, I feel it might be a bit troublesome. I feel when you’ve bought greater than 5 or ten folks, it’s doable, however under that it is likely to be exhausting until you’ve bought very understanding shoppers otherwise you work in an business the place really it’s okay to say you don’t open on a Friday.
I feel they work in most areas. I labored within the NHS for years, and folks have stated to me, ‘Oh, it wouldn’t work in one thing just like the NHS’. I feel I completely would. And , once I was a nurse there, we did 12-hour shifts, and also you do three days on three days off, or three days on 4 days off, which successfully you may really make any shift at work, should you’ve bought the logistics and also you’re in a position to plan out even within the night, one thing that must be 24/7 just like the NHS, you may make a shift sample work so long as you’ve bought the overlap and also you’ve bought the duvet.
What do you assume is sooner or later for the four-day working week?
There’s going to be fewer jobs and by having a four-day working week, you may have a extra even distribution of employment. So I feel from that social financial cause, it is likely to be a cause to do it. Whether or not we’ll want to try this within the UK or not, I don’t know, however I feel it is sensible for a rustic like Spain the place their unemployment fee is close to 20 per cent, or one thing like that.
The four-day working route is actually interesting to folks. That’s held. And the identical with retention as nicely. I feel if somebody wished to depart, they would go away regardless. What I’ve heard from individuals who’ve left, I’ve stored in contact with them, they’ve really negotiated and continued to do 4 days. Though the entire firm hasn’t modified, they’ve gone in and stated, ‘Properly, in order for you me, I wish to keep on my four-day working week.’ So that they they’ve managed, which is sensible. It’s pouring into the businesses beneath the radar.
I’ve to say, once we transformed to the four-day working week, there have been two folks out of fifty on the time who didn’t wish to do it. They stayed on a five-day working week and had the routine. They have been each dad and mom and their reasoning was that they preferred the routine of getting the children off to highschool.
Once we launched the four-day working week, there have been rather a lot fewer sick days, which was nice. It exhibits that individuals could also be simply getting the remaining they want, whether or not it’s bodily or psychological illness, having that day to simply relaxation.
Luscii
Daan Dohmen and Anne Pasdeloup, founder and folks lead hyperlink at Dutch healthtech agency, Luscii, discuss their present trial of the four-day working week.
Why did you determine to do that trial if you did?
Anne: We have been fascinated about methods, aside from vacation, to let folks have the liberty to spend their time the way in which they wish to. We noticed on Twitter one morning that there was an organization that was doing a four-day work week. We thought possibly that’s the answer for us as nicely. And we stated, ‘Okay, simply take at some point to be artistic, take into consideration different stuff’, as a substitute of simply going by that rat race, Monday to Friday, weekends and a Monday to Friday once more, simply give them some artistic time. So long as productiveness doesn’t diminish, then possibly that’s actually it.
How is it going up to now?
Anne: Throughout the trial, it was really the builders who’re actually, actually pleased. I’ve by no means seen happiness as excessive for builders. Our gross sales division really feel a bit bit extra burdened as a result of they really feel like they can’t see clients who wish to discuss on Fridays.
How a lot cash have you ever spent doing the trial?
Anne: There’s some price in that the those that now work part-time must go to a full-time contract.
Principally, everybody will bought a 20 per cent pay rise both in days off or an precise pay rise as a result of that they had a part-time contract.
How did you measure the success of this trial?
Anne: We’ve stated happiness must go up. Productiveness for every group must say the identical, at the least not go down. That’s a fairly good baseline to see if something adjustments.
Throughout the trial, I used to be monitoring employees by asking, ‘How are you doing? How burdened are you?’ [At the time of interview] we solely had 44 staff, so it was very easy to speak. And naturally, everybody must agree with the adjustments and that we’re doing this.
Sick days are one of many issues that we are going to have a look at additionally, ultimately. I suppose that’s certainly the concept additionally since you’ve taken extra time for you so you’re feeling more healthy.
Listed below are some figures off the again of us trialling the four-day work week:
Progress: Common variety of activated sufferers on our platform monthly went up with 16 per cent
Productiveness: Venture tickets processed inside three weeks went up by over 10 per cent
Help: Variety of help tickets closed went up by 42 per cent
Staff: Enhance in worker happiness by 10 per cent and improve in worker wellbeing by 13 per cent, 100 per cent of staff help the thought of 4 day week
Daan: If there are any firms or organisations large or small, wherever on this planet, then we’ll at all times be very happy to offer info or arrange a Zoom name with the intention to let others additionally study what we’ve realized.
Carnsight Communications
Jess Morgan, founding father of Carnsight Communications, began off her enterprise with a decreased working week.
Why did you determine to start out your enterprise with a shorter working week?
Apparently, once I spoke to recruiters and I wasn’t positive of my subsequent step, I talked about shifting elsewhere on a four-day they usually stated it was unprecedented on the time, which is loopy. That will need to have been about six or seven years in the past. Principally, you needed to be in an organization for 5 working days, and then you definately needed to show your value to maneuver to 4 days.
I suppose the opposite key factor on the time was that it was a extremely for folks. Should you have been an individual who didn’t have kids, you didn’t actually really feel like there was a adequate cause.
‘I talked about shifting elsewhere on a four-day and recruiters stated it was unprecedented on the time’
I took folks on for a sure variety of days or hours, I wasn’t taking up five-day salaries immediately. We might be a constructing block for brand spanking new firms and work up steadily. So, it was like a way of life, and maximising productiveness. I assumed, nicely, really, I can faucet into folks for a sure variety of hours or days and construct up the enterprise.
I can’t compete with corporates on salaries, however my purpose is for individuals who work flexibly to be rewarded. So for instance, in a four-day working week at my firm, you’ll be rewarded the identical as a five-day working week at an organization of an analogous dimension. Everybody’s very grown up and trusted. However we get a lot executed, we’ve bought the correct quantity of shoppers.
For me the mannequin is working rather well if I can reward folks working 4 days with a five-day conventional wage.
The place did you discover your staff?
I employed my first member of employees as an intern, and he or she was nonetheless at college. She was in her last yr of college and searching for a placement. In order that was excellent. We met randomly on Twitter, but it surely turned out she was searching for a placement. My second worker, who’s nonetheless with me, she’s finding out a Grasp’s. So she was one other individual that knew she solely wanted sure days proper from the beginning. When she finishes, she’s really going to go as much as 4 days. My third worker was a father or mother and had a baby who was not at college and wished a job that may enable her to spend a while with him. My fourth worker is one other intern. She is at the moment doing a spread of placements.
I’m actually obsessed with my job, however I’m not unrealistic. I do know that individuals have gotten lives outdoors. So should you’re doing one thing you’re obsessed with in your day if you’re not working with me, then I feel that’s an actual profit.
How do these working constructions have an effect on vacation allowance?
The vacation allowance does keep in mind that the employees are solely working a sure variety of days, as a result of I’ve executed it by an HR firm.
Learn extra
What small companies consider the four-day working week – Labour has pledged to make a four-day working week the norm inside ten years. We requested small enterprise homeowners what they consider the thought
Third of firms say four-day week inevitable inside 10 years – 34% of companies count on four-day week to grow to be a actuality in subsequent ten years, however only one per cent plan to implement it with out chopping pay
Watch extra
Joe Ryle, Director of the 4 Day Week Marketing campaign, speaks at TEDxUniversityofLeeds
