Which evolved week should you choose?

Welcome to the latest edition of my newsletter. This week, I’m writing about one of the hottest topics in the world of work right now - four day weeks.

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The four day week has gathered momentum at a huge pace, with recent UK trials showing that productivity, engagement, and happiness all increased.

For many companies, taking the plunge into a four day week might seem like a big risk to take, but we’re seeing companies push the boundaries of the five day working week in other ways that enable them to balance both business and team member priorities. I like to call these “evolved work weeks”.?

I’ve had a large number of companies ask me directly for guidance on moving towards a four day week, so I’m breaking it down into the three most common options I’ve encountered: the four day week, the 4.5 day week, and the nine day fortnight.?

This week, I’ll be covering:

?? How the 4 day week, 4.5 day week, and 9 day fortnight work

?? The advantages and disadvantages of each

?? Examples of companies that are doing each one well

?? How to get discovered by great candidates if you offer an evolved work week

Four day week:

While the four day week isn’t a new concept, as some pioneering companies have been working a four day week for a long time (e.g. Stellar Asset Management ), the trial has brought the four day week to the forefront of future of work conversations. The trial has resulted in some extremely eye catching statistics, such as

?? 92% of the participating employers are sticking with the four-day week

?? 96% of workers prefer the four-day week

?? Employee stress levels dropped by 39%

?? Employee burnout rates fell by 71%

?? Sick days plummeted by 65%

?? Staff resignations dropped by 57%

Clearly, many people do not need to be working five days a week in order to maintain productivity, and the trial is now being adopted as a permanent way of working for hundreds of companies.?

If you’re thinking about taking the plunge, here are a few different ways that companies can embrace a four day week:

• Setting a day that will be the day off - usually a Friday - that the whole company takes together
• Reducing hours down to the equivalent of four days (e.g. 35 hours to 28 hours) and enabling employees to spread the hours reduction across the week.
• Giving the option of a few half days (maybe a Monday morning, Wednesday afternoon and a Friday afternoon) that people can pick from.

Atom bank , JBM , Hydrogen Group are three companies embracing the four day week, and it has had a huge impact on their talent attraction power, particularly through Flexa where, every month, thousands of people are searching for companies offering a four day week.

4.5 day week:

A 4.5 day week can be considered a “dipping your toe in the water” version of the four day week. Studies show that, on average, people switch off from their jobs at 2:39pm on a Friday; so, really, not many people are truly working on a Friday afternoon after 3pm anyway!?

The 4.5 day week is a great way to give time back to employees without worrying about a drop in productivity, or people not being around to pick things up. We have offered a 4.5 day week at Flexa from the very beginning, and it’s been a huge success - people have a longer weekend and aren’t staring at their screens being unproductive after 2pm.?

If you’re having a hard time convincing senior management to embrace more flexibility, then a 4.5 day week could be the perfect solution - cutting dead time but adding a benefit that people genuinely appreciate, at no cost or loss to the business. Win-win!

As well as here at Flexa , Vault & Huel have also embraced a 4.5 day week and encourage their employees to do the things that they love in this time. Most companies offer the half day off on a Friday, but it can also be given as four hours to be taken whenever someone chooses.?

9 day fortnight:

The 9 day fortnight is the newest version of the evolved work week. For many companies, going straight for the 4 day week feels like too much of a risk, and trialling every other Friday off feels like a gentler way to see the benefits, without the potential of much downside, given that it’s only every other Friday.?

One downside of a 9 day fortnight is the lack of weekly routine, and difficulty in planning things into the future. However, all of the companies that I have spoken to that offer a 9 day fortnight say that it has made a huge impact on work-life balance, engagement, and productivity.?

Figures , Welcome to the Jungle UK , & Tails.com | B Corp are three brilliant examples of companies that have embraced the 9 day fortnight. Figures has offered it permanently, and Tails.com and Otta are currently conducting an exciting trial, so watch this space!

Do you offer an evolved work week?

If you are pioneering the evolution of the working week, then this is something for which? your company should be getting discovered! Companies on Flexa are 4x more likely to be considered by a candidate than companies just on LinkedIn, and offering an evolved work week increases this even further.?

If you’ve put the effort in to set up such amazing ways of working, then it’s something that people should be finding you for, not just discovering once they’ve stumbled across your company.?

At Flexa, the 4.5 day week is part of the reason that we have spent ￡0 in direct recruitment costs… So use your flexibility to your advantage! You can see how your working environment benchmarks against the market here, and get your company discovered on Flexa for your evolved work weeks as we add more filters to our flexibility searches, like the 4 day week one.?