Is a Four-Day Week the Future of Flexible Work?
Johnny Campbell
Enabling Hiring Excellence by bringing you the world’s leading hiring experts and resources all on one platform. CEO/ Co-Founder @socialtalent.com
Workplace trends have an ability to catch like wildfire. Last year saw terms like quiet-quitting and The Great Resignation stoke the flames of the status quo, and it seems another is set to dominate in the first few months of 2023 – the four-day work week. Time, The Guardian, Business Insider, and countless other publications have released articles extolling the benefits of this new working structure. “By almost every measure,” reads Time, “both employers and employees overwhelmingly judged the new schedule a success.”
But is the four-day work week all it’s cracked up to be?
What the four-day week represents
I can see the immediate intention and impact – improving work-life-balance for employees, reducing stress, boosting contentment. And I can see the positives for organizations too as turnover decreases and engagement and productivity rise. It’s even an amazing talent attraction tool, signalling to prospective candidates that you’re progressive and take the future of work seriously. These are admirable goals and ones we should all absolutely be pursuing to build better workplaces. However, I’m slightly less convinced that the four-day work week is the ultimate avenue to go down to truly achieve these aims.
Employees want flexibility
The traditional five-day, 9-5 working week is a relic from a bygone era. It simply does not cater to how we operate in 2023. Life is faster, demands on our time are higher, and we’ve never been more conscious of how important it is to carve out space for mental health. And I think the four-day week only half solves these concerns. Why? Because it’s still imposing a rigid boundary around how and when we work.
We know how important flexibility is becoming for employees. A recent Gallup survey found that 94% of workers would prefer to work remotely or hybrid if their role allowed for it. While a SocialTalent poll discovered that flexibility and work-life-balance accounted for 69% of the vote on what is keeping employees engaged.
So does the four-day week really answer these needs?
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The limitations of the four-day week
While a four days on / three days off structure will absolutely appeal to some, it doesn’t allow a larger breadth of true autonomy. We all operate differently, and by giving your people the opportunity to determine how they work best, you can ingrain a more lasting and malleable version of flexibility. Some employees may need to work around care schedules at home or perhaps they focus better later in the evening. Others might have medical requirements that necessitate a change or they may need an afternoon free for personal reasons. A stringent four-day work week could limit this kind of flexibility.
By focusing more on the finished product of work done, rather than the how and when, it frees employees up to create a work week that enables their best and allows time to balance life and wellbeing in a way that makes sense for them. For me, flexibility is about softening the boundaries and trusting your team to perform. A recent Gartner report even found that creating a more human-centric approach to flexibility in the workplace can lead to a 3.2x increase in retention.
There is also the fear that after the newness of a four-day work week subsides, you may be left with the same organizational issues you were contending with before. Cutting a week down by a day won’t automatically solve problems with engagement or reduce overly stressful cultures (not in the long term anyway) because it doesn’t address any root causes of dissatisfaction.
More research is needed?
While I have my reservations about the four-day week, I am pleased to see that the conversation about flexible working is front and center. Initial responses to the experiment seem really positive, and that’s certainly a step in the right direction.?
I think it’s fair to say that there is no one correct approach to flexibility, and a particular solution that may work for one company perhaps won't for another – but that's the advantage of adopting a more flexible mindset, right?! The four-day work week feels a bit prescriptive to me, but its core reasoning – to reduce hours worked in favor of increased productivity and wellbeing – is certainly the future, in whatever capacity is followed.
In the spirit of continued conversation, I want to invite you all to our next SocialTalent Live webinar on March 30 – Flex or Fail: Navigating Hybrid Work. We’ll hear from CPOs, Talent Leaders, and industry thought-leaders as they dig into what flexible and hybrid work means to them. Click the link and register your place today!
And let me know in the comments – are you a fan of the four-day week? What does flexibility mean for your organization? I’d be fascinated to hear.
Great insights
Experienced Commercial Director & Entrepreneur | Specialist in Success Management | Expansion & Acquisitions | Interested in Speaking Opportunities ??? | Sales Expert | Ireland - South Africa~ Business Relations
1 年Thanks Johnny, great insights as always. More research is needed for sure. We can use the analogy of "horses for courses" but that doesn't quite cover things. Personalities and habits are big factors. Many of those who took massive liberties during Covid while "remote working" are likely to do similar and ruin it for others. Remote/Hybrid/Flexible working is here to stay.. the question is how to make it work for each individual organisation and team member.
Retired - Formerly: Lawyer - Managing Director GMAC Corporation - Mgt Consultant - Currently: Featured Contributor BIZCATALYST360.com
1 年I have always followed developments in work organization very carefully. This measure of the 4-hour working week is a delicate issue that cannot be solved superficially and it is still necessary to evaluate the trend in the various countries that have already applied it, looking closely at how things went in the individual sectors of activity. For a general judgment I believe that the best model is that of flexibility, evaluating case by case without relying on a specific model. At the center there must be, as always, the individual and his needs in relation to the organization. You need to find the best model for your business, in order to improve growth, innovation, profits and - above all - the happiness of the organization as a whole.
LinkedIn Top Voice | CCO at Fraser Dove International | Private Equity and VC Executive Search | Speaker | Bestselling Author | On a Mission to Enhance Life Sciences Through Talent
1 年Brilliant article JC - enjoyable read and no simple answer to getting it right and inclusive for everyone. As you describe, ironically, in some ways a fixed 4 day week can actually feel inflexible. Important conversations to be having ??
Ukrainian
1 年A few years ago I was escorting my granny to visit her doctors at the hospital for a check-up each Friday. it takes only a few hours, but it was emotionally draining. After that, we came home at 1 pm and then I was working for a few hours. Later I made some calculations and decided to split all my Friday-hours to other workdays. I paused working online on Fridays for a few months. and it felt amazing! Because I know that after going home with my granny - I can just go outside and enjoy the end of the week. And I was able to work offline, if I want or if I have stuff with me. I can read some documentation, or an article, or just sit in a cafe and make some planning for next week. But only if I want to do it.