Reframe your thinking: the 4-day work week

We need to change the way we’re thinking about the idea of a four-day working week.

Many  people feel like we’ve exhausted the conversation around working patterns, sick of seeing the same posts, about whether working from home is productive, if people should be able to dictate their own schedules, and what would happen if businesses mandated everyone back to the office. But the 4 day work week conversation continues to persist.

This is partly due to the state of the working world. We’re in desperate need of better strategies to manage people and help us offset the talent shortage, the engagement gap, rising stress levels – the list is a long one. Employee wellbeing is now more important than ever, and giving people more time to attend to their lives is an almost glaringly obvious solution.

November sees a new six-month experiment involving 17 UK companies and more than 1,000 employees, to test whether a shorter working week can enhance productivity. The previous trial was conducted by think tank Autonomy in 2022. The results of this trial were impressive. 71% of workers reported feeling less stressed, and many employees felt they had a better balance between their work and personal lives. Staff took fewer sick days, and were, on average, as or even more productive despite the reduction in working hours. Many businesses reported workers being more focused and efficient, maximizing outputs during the shorter work week. While there were some challenges, the pilot was incredibly successful - 56 out of 61 participating businesses opted to adopt the reduced hours on a permanent basis.

How to make it work

Reframe your mindset - Yes, introducing this kind of reduction in working time can be a daunting task. What makes that easier? A change in how we think about work. For a four-day workweek to be successful, leaders need to shift their mindsets to value actual productivity, not just hours worked. They also need to ensure that employees aren’t worried they will be penalised embracing work-life balance rather than presenteeism.

Stop thinking of it as part-time…because it’s not. A 4 day work week either compresses 40 hours into 32, or staff work longer days when they’re at work. Your staff will still be completing a full-time week; this approach to work embraces ‘work smarter, not harder ‘ mindset and puts productivity at the heart of the workday.

Trust that your staff want to do their job - One of the big misconceptions with this structural shift in working hours is that people are lazy and want to work less. This completely misses the point – accountability and standards remain the same as before, with output, similarly, unchanged. 

Accept that it’ll bring uncertainty

You’re trying out a new initiative; there are going to be bumps in the road. The four-day work week challenges traditional working patterns that most of us have worked in for our entire lives. Trying to anticipate all possible problems and eliminate risks before you even run a trial is probably not going to work – the problems haven’t arisen, thus don’t need solving yet – wait and see if they rear their heads and if they do, tackle them then. Some people may not like these changes, and this should be openly acknowledged.

Do it for diversity - Working a four-day week allows people greater flexibility over their lives, and that means more time to do the things that are important to them. It brings more time for your staff to spend with their families, benefitting those who look after other family members and children, more time for ‘life admin’ and dealing with that dreaded pile of tasks that build up at home, more time for travelling and more time for exploring and finding out more about who you are as a person. It’s a win-win situation.

Recognise the market is talent-led - We are consistently meeting with candidates who want to work with businesses who support their desires for a more flexible working week, and candidates are incredibly receptive to 4 day work weeks. Hybrid and remote working remain one of the most sought after employee benefits, and employees also highly value flexibility in working hours.

Ultimately, the conversation around a four-day working week is more relevant than ever as businesses look for innovative ways to attract and retain talent, support employee wellbeing, and improve productivity. As trials have shown, a shorter work week can lead to higher employee satisfaction, reduced stress, and sustained productivity, making it a promising model for the future. However, for this shift to succeed, leaders must embrace new perspectives on productivity, foster trust in their teams, and remain open to navigating the inevitable challenges. Ultimately, adopting a four-day work week could reshape work-life balance, creating a more sustainable and appealing work culture for the modern workforce.