The four day week - new research on the benefits and challenges
Gemma Dale
Experienced HR Director and lecturer. Flexible and hybrid working specialist. Speaker, Writer, Coach. FCIPD, FHEA. Board advisor.
The four day work week is of increasing interest to organisations and employees - perhaps unsurprisingly. A recent UK trial has showed promising results; however flexible work arrangements have long been associated with both benefits and drawbacks and we need to ensure we understand these fully before introducing new ways of working.
Earlier this year the UK benefited from several bank holidays in quick succession. At Liverpool Business School we took the opportunity to ask people about their experiences of working a four day week in this context, in order to see what we could learn about a shorter work week.
Here are a few of our key findings - starting with the benefits:
Survey respondents told us that they spent the extra time resulting from the shorter working week spending time with family and friends, eating out, relaxing, activities related to health and wellbeing and undertaking hobbies.
However, challenges were also identified too:
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Although the survey has a relatively small sample size, it is clear that bank holiday related shorter working weeks have both advantages and disadvantages for employees.? ?Whilst employees described benefiting on a personal level as a result of the additional time off, this had consequences in the workplace including a more intense working week, and a pressure (real or perceived) to ‘cram’ five days’ work into five. ??Previous research into four day weeks has highlighted the potential for work intensification (this is an issue with flexible work in general) – but has also found that this is a trade-off that employees are often prepared to make, given that they value flexible working so highly.
Organisations implement four day work weeks in different ways. Some forms of the four day week expressly involve employees being required to maintain a ‘normal’ (generally five day week) level of productivity in order to retain the ability to work that shorter week. As our survey highlights, this could lead to stress, pressure and work intensification.??
Work intensification has important wellbeing implications – employers who are considering implementing a four day week need to give careful consideration to how they can implement such a pattern without negatively influencing employee health and wellbeing.? The four day week can bring benefits to employees and organisations alike - but we need to ensure that this potential does not come at the cost of reduced wellbeing and work life balance.
Our research data is undergoing more detailed analysis and we hope to publish the final outcomes later this year. Research team: Gemma Dale, Hannah Wilson, Matthew Tucker.
Founder at Humantalk. Chartered MCIPD. FLPI. ICF Coach.
1 年Thank you for your work in this area Gemma.
Helping HR access the?best workplace mental health training, which enables each employee to communicate with empathy, understanding, and self-awareness | Mental Health First Aid delivered differently.
1 年The potential of a four-day week (or other format) is certainly intriguing, especially when it comes to productivity, performance, and overall well-being.
Higher Educational Professional with several years experience working in admissions, programme administration, assessment and student support.
1 年I suppose cutting out unnecessary meetings or being stricter with agendas is important. Also, how long was the trial which was carried out? I currently work compressed hours due to childcare which means so much to me to be able to spend more time with my son. But I understand that there is an added pressure to fit more in but it certainly keeps you focused during work time!
Occupational Health and Wellbeing Lead & Mental Health and Wellbeing Network Chair | MSc Workplace Health and Wellbeing | ISO45003 Cert | NEBOSH | Advisory Board Member | Let’s Improve Workplace Wellbeing Leadership Team
1 年You’ve most likely seen this…but just in case you haven’t. Thought you’d find it interesting: https://whatworkswellbeing.org/blog/findings-from-four-day-work-week-trial/