The new labour government recently re-opened the lid on the four-day working week, and have made some fairly loud noises about moving forward with additional legislation.

More detail is expected in the autumn when a law for a new package of workers' rights could be brought to parliament.

Status Quo and mooted changes

Since April, employees have had the right to request 'flexible working' from the day they start at a company, including compressed hours, but with no guarantees. Labour's plans could make it harder for employers to reject those requests.

Employees would still have to work their full hours to receive full pay but could request their contracted hours be compressed into a shorter working week, with the onus on the employer to make it work or justify why it is not plausible.

The government has said it will work with businesses and consult on any changes to employment legislation.

Growing the economy

Academically, there is still only a small body of research on the four-day week and limited consensus as to any wide-reaching, consistent effects.

This labour government has set its stall out on economic growth, so it is unlikely to do anything which its economic advisors believe would detract from that goal.

Interestingly, Greece recently introduced a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to boost its economic growth. From the start of July, new legislation has allowed employees of businesses which operate on a 24-hour basis to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to 40. It is optional but workers do get paid 40% for their overtime.

Benefits of a compressed week

Some workers involved in trials have pointed to their wellbeing and a feeling of greater work-life balance, either from the longer weekend or by effectively working two 2-day weeks, Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday.

Typically, the extra day at home allows people more time with young children or caring for relatives, while also saving significant amounts of money on both transport and childcare.

Some businesses involved in trials have also reported greater productivity through more targeted engagement and staff literally having more time to get into a project and see things through ‘in one sitting’.

Challenges of a 4-day week

On the flip side to gains in wellbeing, condensing 40 hours into four days can also end up feeling like a very long day, especially in certain sectors or jobs.

Rather than only affecting one individual, any stresses and strains arising from that can also be felt across a team, especially where others are still working ‘normal’ days. Depending on the size of the business, it may not be possible or practical to accommodate a four-day week if it doesn’t work for everyone.

Even where it does work, it invariably requires investment in infrastructure, technology and training, especially where there is a degree of working from home involved.

Knock-on effects: Org re-design and Job re-evaluation

In certain sectors, a four-day week is almost certain to lead to higher staffing costs, or to the need for an overhaul in job architecture and/or organisational design.

Where roles are either changed or reallocated to cater for the new requirements, there could be unintended consequences.

Some companies involved in trials also reported an altered culture or working environment where people became more conscious of time and working hours, not necessarily clock-watching but thinking in more short, ‘finite’ terms and losing track of the long-term vision.

Summary

Depending on the business, there are definite benefits to the added flexibility of a compressed working week, but we are still in the foothills when it comes to understanding the true physiological and psychological health impacts on workers, and the tangible ‘bottom line’ impact on businesses.

If you feel you could benefit from guidance around compressed hours or other flexible working measures, or with assessing impacts on Organisational Design, please contact Sarah.Lardner@innecto.com.

 

 

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