Experiences this week (27 January 2025) reveal that 200 UK corporations have signed as much as a everlasting four-day working week, the place workers can work for someday much less with no loss in pay.
Right here’s a breakdown of among the corporations who’ve signed up:
- 30 promoting, PR and advertising and marketing corporations
- 29 organisations in charity, NGO and social care
- 24 in expertise, IT and software program
- 22 corporations in enterprise, consulting and administration sector
- 59 of the businesses are London-based, the biggest regional contingent
In response to the information, George Holmes, managing director of Aurora Capital, displays on how the four-day week generally is a recreation changer for UK small companies:
“For SMEs, it gives a possibility to stage the taking part in subject with bigger employers by offering a profit that resonates strongly with employees prioritising work-life steadiness.
“Whereas smaller companies might not be capable of compete on salaries, they are often far more agile and versatile than huge companies. This implies they will entice the very best candidates who worth flexibility and wellbeing by providing progressive working patterns like a four-day week. This shift isn’t nearly conserving workers completely satisfied—it may be a robust method to construct loyalty and scale back turnover.
“Nevertheless, adopting a four-day week requires cautious planning to take care of productiveness and profitability. It’s a daring transfer, however for SMEs prepared to suppose creatively, it’s an opportunity to redefine the way in which they entice, retain, and empower their groups.”
Increasingly more speak of the four-day working week
With a view to strengthen worker rights, we may very well be seeing much more battle for the four-day working week. Labour need to introduce a four-day working week with no consideration, accessible from day one, however they haven’t dedicated to it of their management thus far.
There’s proof pointing in the direction of a four-day work week’s efficacy for worker wellbeing, productiveness and stress ranges. Many of the UK corporations that took half within the worldwide four-day working week trial (54 out of 61 corporations) again in 2022 have made it everlasting. Over half (55 per cent) of mission managers and CEOs mentioned that transfer had a constructive impact on the organisation. A sizeable 82 per cent mentioned it had a constructive affect on employees wellbeing, 50 per cent mentioned it diminished employees turnover and 32 per cent mentioned it improved employees recruitment.
Throughout the six nations that trialled the scheme, 63 per cent of corporations discovered it simpler to draw expertise and 64 per cent reported a discount in burnout. Henley Enterprise College say that taking part companies cited financial savings of £92 million (round 2 per cent of turnover) per yr.
Nevertheless, the identical report says that 73 per cent of companies would discover a four-day working week too sophisticated to handle. Most of those companies (82 per cent) say that being accessible to prospects is their greatest barrier in implementing the four-day week. Limitations in working with different nations, particularly in the event that they function on five-day work weeks, was additionally a priority.
One other trial is at present underway, made up of 1,000 UK employees. It’s unclear how lengthy it’s going to be, however the 4 Day Week marketing campaign shall be exhibiting its newest findings to the federal government in summer time 2025.
As of December 2024, greater than 190 corporations within the UK had been providing a four-day work week on full pay.
Corporations run by youthful owner-managers are extra open to the concept, as are companies with 50 or extra workers. Corporations who’ve seen development of their backside line previously three years are extra open to the concept too.
We’ll be trying on the professionals and cons and the practicalities of implementing a four-day working week in your online business.
Learn on for the complete information or bounce to the sections you’re most all for:
- How does the four-day working week function?
- What are the advantages of a 4-day working week?
- What in regards to the disadvantages?
- Corporations which have carried out the 4-day working week
How does the four-day working week function?
The thought of a four-day working week is a discount in hours to mirror the smaller variety of days. Some argue that this construction may work as the identical variety of hours performed over fewer days. This is named a compressed week.
For the needs of this text, the week should be diminished to 32 hours – eight hours over 4 days – with the identical pay. It’s extra of a transition than a swap. “It’s very a lot about working time discount. We’re additionally speaking a few transition in the direction of shorter hours, not an in a single day change,” mentioned Aidan Harper, researcher on the New Economics Basis.
“The way in which I’ve seen individuals ‘fail’ in implementing a four-day week is when it hasn’t actually been a real discount in working hours. And so they’ve tried to squeeze all their work hours into it, in order that finally ends up messing with individuals’s childcare routines and results in exhaustion within the week.”
The additional ‘day without work’ is the place there’s extra flexibility. Companies may go for a blanket day without work for all of their employees – say they’ve a Friday off and have an extended weekend – or they may take a day mid-week. Others let employees select which day they’d prefer to take off and organise their operations round that. The enterprise stays open Monday-Friday.
What are the advantages of a 4-day working week?
Some who’ve trialled and carried out a four-day working week have revered the change for numerous causes, so let’s break them down.
Productiveness
Productiveness is among the first – and most compelling – causes that corporations make the transition.
When this desk from Time, Norway, Demark and the Netherlands are productive nations with working hours of round 27 hours apiece. Japan charges at 20 out of 35, regardless of working notoriously lengthy hours.
Microsoft Japan tried the four-day working week and productiveness went off 40 per cent, New Zealand-based Perpetual Backyard had a rise of 20 per cent and UK-based MRL Recruitment mentioned their trial elevated productiveness by 25 per cent.
Happier workers
Analysis from Henley Enterprise College signifies that employees at companies with a four-day week are 78 per cent happier and 62 per cent took fewer sick days.
It additionally decreases stress ranges. Workers at Perpetual Guardian reported a 7 per cent lower in stress after transferring to a four-day week.
Extra workforce inclusive
Having extra versatile working practices provides alternatives to potential workers with caring and different tasks.
What’s extra, it may assist to cleared the path for higher gender equality. “Historical past can also be decided by the concept of male breadwinner within the manufacturing unit within the Fifties. The working week developed out of that. That was when the working week itself was knowledgeable by a really patriarchal, outdated, outmoded type of labor. We’ve moved past that,” mentioned Harper.
“Half-time work is overwhelmingly prone to be low, paid, insecure and provide few alternatives for development. And also you’d typically get people who find themselves overqualified doing roles. So if an organisation desires to draw these individuals to make it fairer, they must be open to opening up making part-time a brand new full-time to take away this bottleneck of expertise into the organisations.”
Improves employees recruitment and retention
Versatile working may enhance employees retention and entice new expertise. Not solely will it’s extra interesting to workers who need versatile working, however it’s a fantastic perk for individuals who need to pursue a separate ardour.
A examine from TopCV revealed that just about one-third of UK jobseekers rank a four-day working week as their high precedence for his or her subsequent position. This was carefully adopted by a complete change of profession or trade (29 per cent) and an organisation dedicated to equality, range and inclusion (19 per cent).
Discussing the findings, Amanda Augustine, careers professional at TopCV, commented: ‘The occasions over the previous yr have prompted many professionals to re-evaluate their priorities, significantly on the subject of their profession and the kind of organisation they need to work for.”
Retaining workers on for longer saves you quite a lot of money and time in recruiting and onboarding new employees.
Extra environmentally pleasant
Resulting from much less energy being utilized in workplaces and fewer emissions from commuting, a four-day working may result in a smaller carbon footprint. The two,063 respondents in Henley Enterprise College’s analysis estimated that they might drive 588m miles much less per week if it was diminished to 4 working days.
Spending extra time at work and a typically faster-paced mindset may end up in the next consumption life-style, as Harper explains. “For instance, it may imply driving as a substitute of strolling or biking, or having a rushed, frozen, energy-intensive meal put in microwave, slightly than cooking with selfmade elements.”
What in regards to the disadvantages?
Nevertheless, it’s finest to consider your companies wants earlier than you go forward.
Prospects/purchasers might not just like the change and go together with a competitor
If you happen to go for the blanket ‘day without work’ strategy and shut your online business for an additional day, prospects might not realise that they will’t pay money for you that day. If their enquiry is pressing or they get aggravated that you simply’re not accessible, they might go to another person.
It’s not appropriate for each enterprise
Some companies aren’t suited to the four-day working week. You’ll want the best help, expertise and office tradition to ensure that it to be a hit. This might contain spending extra cash on automation, outsourcing and/or HR platforms.
London’s Wellcome Belief determined to scrap its trial as a result of it was ‘too operationally complicated to implement’ for its 800 employees.
Treehouse, an HR agency within the US, dropped its four-day week because it was struggling to maintain up with opponents.
What’s extra, the sooner analysis from Henley Enterprise College reveals that 45 per cent of employees would fear about being perceived as lazy by colleagues and over a 3rd (35 per cent) can be involved in the event that they needed to hand over their work to colleagues.
>See additionally: Is a 4 day working week actually a boon for productiveness and employees wellbeing?
Operations could also be tough if in case you have totally different working constructions occurring
If everyone’s days off are on totally different days, then some might really feel strain to work on ‘off days’ as a result of totally different schedules. Even when they don’t, not having employees in might disturb deadlines.
“If you happen to change one particular person’s routine, you could discover that it has an affect on one other staff. There might not have been a realisation in regards to the interconnectivity inside a office between groups and people and the knock-on results of that,” mentioned Harper.
Not cost-effective
A paper by Jethro Elsden, information analyst on the Centre for Coverage Research, reveals {that a} four-day week can be expensive for the economic system. Based mostly on present productiveness ranges, the measure would price £45bn. Even with ‘beneficiant’ productiveness positive factors, estimates counsel that it could nonetheless price £17bn.
Corporations which have carried out the 4-day working week
That is all high quality in concept, however it’s extra helpful to listen to the experiences of companies which have tried it themselves. That’s why we requested three companies how the four-day working week goes for them.
Synergy Imaginative and prescient
Ffyona Dawber, CEO of Synergy Imaginative and prescient, talks about why she moved the medical comms enterprise to a four-day mannequin and the way the corporate has performed it.
What made you contemplate the four-day working week?
Effectively, I’d learn some stuff on it in, I feel it was Scandinavia, they had been doing it. I put it to the board, I believed possibly that is one thing they’d be all for. I have to admit, after I put it to the board, I believed they’d say no manner.
At that time, we had been doing a 40-hour week, and so they talked about decreasing it to 37.5 hours. I mentioned, ‘Effectively, how about we scale back it additional and do it over 4 days?’ Amazingly, everybody mentioned, ‘Wow, that sounds actually attention-grabbing. Why don’t we have a look at that?’ So we determined to do it on a trial.
My husband is Dutch. In Holland, they’ve a – it’s not formal – they typically have a ‘daddy day’ or ‘papa day’ which is normally a Friday when the dads decide the children up from faculty, as a result of they’re not working 5 days every week. I believed, ‘This looks like a pleasant tradition, a pleasant method to do it’.
How did it begin?
After we began it, we did a trial. The surveys had been very constructive that folks had been discovering they had been capable of do now. We thought we’d ask individuals within the surveys what they might do with their non-working day. And so they all initially mentioned they’ll begin a passion or go play golf or tennis or one thing like that. The truth of what truly occurred is individuals did quite a lot of life admin on their regular working day, however it meant then their weekends had been free to different stuff. Yeah, so it wasn’t as thrilling within the surveys as we thought it was going to be, however individuals liked it.
No one wished to show again, everybody mentioned they had been happier. We did a happiness index. We did a piece life steadiness index, individuals felt that the place work wasn’t interfering as a lot on their private life because it had performed beforehand and vice versa. So it felt just like the steadiness was proper.
You’ve even had a Masterchef contestant (Jasmeet Dial) within the firm!
That’s why he did it, as a result of they did two days of filming every week. He did one of many days of filming on a non-working day.
How does it work – does everybody have the identical day without work?
We did speak about how to do that. Will we as an organization of about 50 individuals on the time, do we are saying that, ‘Such and such has to have this day without work and such and such has to have this day without work’, as a result of we’re nonetheless open 5 days every week, and purchasers want to have the ability to contact us 5 days every week.
We wanted to make sure that every mission would cowl 5 days every week, so that you wouldn’t have everybody from our mission staff taking Friday off. So we talked about whether or not we must always mandate which days after which it felt like a logistical nightmare, you already know, to try to work out who was engaged on what, what purchasers labored, and it simply appeared like a nightmare.
What we ended up doing was we put it to the staff. As an alternative, you’ve obtained to resolve amongst yourselves what days you’re having off. So clearly, everybody can’t all the time have Friday off. So that you’ve obtained two individuals in a staff. And so they each prefer to have a Friday off. Fridays, Mondays and Wednesdays are positively the preferred days.
‘No one wished to show again, everybody mentioned they had been happier’
So we left it as much as everybody to do themselves as a result of we didn’t must type out the logistics.
How have you ever managed totally different days off?
We truly needed to go together with an exterior HR system. And I’m so glad we did. For the primary two months of the trial, we didn’t have the system – we used Excel, and that was actually laborious.
The way in which that we had to do this was for holidays and financial institution holidays, we needed to depend hours as a substitute of days. Effectively, it’s not your normal 5 day working week, which is what the HR system was arrange for.
Have you ever seen individuals really feel strain to work on their ‘off’ days?
Some must work on their ‘off’ days however it was very uncommon. We usually e book it a month upfront. So we try to get the calendar updated a month beforehand.
We did quite a lot of conferences for purchasers and that form of factor. So conferences normally run over a Friday, Saturday, Sunday. They are usually on the weekend to get the utmost variety of individuals. And in these circumstances, individuals must work. And if they’d a consumer assembly on a Friday, in order that they needed to work a standard week and even over the weekend, what we do is allow them to take the additional days again in lieu inside a month, so they may take it again. But it surely was uncommon that that occurs, to be sincere. Usually what individuals would do is, in the event that they had been flying on Thursday, they take the Wednesday off simply to get stuff performed.
If we had the pliability to permit it, for those who weren’t capable of take it someday, you can take it throughout the subsequent month. And we mentioned ‘throughout the subsequent month’, as a result of what you don’t need is individuals simply maintain working 5 days and maintain working 5 days, you need them to make use of up the day off to get the break.
How did purchasers reply to the transfer?
Most of them had been receptive. We had in all probability one or two I can consider – one specifically – who didn’t like the concept. The primary couple of weeks he was phoning up each single day of the week to offer a bit bit extra data on what he wished performed on a mission, we felt like he was simply testing to test it was the 5 days every week, however that settled down after a month as properly and he obtained used to it.
All the opposite purchasers liked it. And it was one of many huge pharma corporations who got here to us and mentioned, ‘That is superb, we’d love to have a look at doing it.’
Are there any sectors the place you are feeling this mannequin wouldn’t work?
I feel for those who’re working with purchasers, or working externally, on the earth the place they’ve a five-day working week, you do want somebody to cowl stuff the 5 days.
If you happen to’ve obtained 5 or extra individuals, you may be capable of make it work. The issue then comes that we had on the time, our design staff was solely two individuals (it’s 5 now), however on the time, it was fairly small. Once you’ve solely obtained two individuals in a single staff, it turns into an issue when one in every of them goes on vacation as a result of, after all, you continue to have regular holidays. So ,if one goes on vacation, after which the opposite one’s nonetheless doing a four-day working week, you’ve obtained someday every week when there’s no person there. So in that case, we’ve to get a freelancer in. We all know upfront when the vacations had been booked and we get a freelancer in a few Fridays or the Monday when the opposite particular person was going to be off.
I suppose there are additional issues there with useful resource and a smaller enterprise might not having the money stream to have the ability to negotiate that.
Yeah, I feel it could be a bit tough. I feel when you’ve obtained greater than 5 or ten individuals, it’s doable, however beneath that it could be laborious until you’ve obtained very understanding purchasers otherwise you work in an trade the place truly it’s okay to say you don’t open on a Friday.
I feel they work in most areas. I labored within the NHS for years, and other people have mentioned to me, ‘Oh, it wouldn’t work in one thing just like the NHS’. I feel I completely would. And you already know, after I was a nurse there, we did 12-hour shifts, and also you do three days on three days off, or three days on 4 days off, which successfully you may truly make any shift at work, for those who’ve obtained the logistics and also you’re capable of plan out even within the night, one thing that must be 24/7 just like the NHS, you can also make a shift sample work so long as you’ve obtained the overlap and also you’ve obtained the duvet.
What do you suppose is sooner or later for the four-day working week?
There’s going to be fewer jobs and by having a four-day working week, you may have a extra even distribution of employment. So I feel from that social financial purpose, it could be a purpose to do it. Whether or not we’ll want to do this within the UK or not, I don’t know, however I feel it is sensible for a rustic like Spain the place their unemployment charge is close to 20 per cent, or one thing like that.
The four-day working route is absolutely interesting to individuals. That’s held. And the identical with retention as properly. I feel if somebody wished to go away, they would go away regardless. What I’ve heard from individuals who’ve left, I’ve saved in contact with them, they’ve truly negotiated and continued to do 4 days. Although the entire firm hasn’t modified, they’ve gone in and mentioned, ‘Effectively, if you need me, I need to keep on my four-day working week.’ In order that they they’ve managed, which is good. It’s pouring into the businesses underneath the radar.
I’ve to say, once we transformed to the four-day working week, there have been two individuals out of fifty on the time who didn’t need to do it. They stayed on a five-day working week and had the routine. They had been each dad and mom and their reasoning was that they favored the routine of getting the children off to highschool.
After we launched the four-day working week, there have been lots fewer sick days, which was nice. It reveals that folks could also be simply getting the remainder they want, whether or not it’s bodily or psychological illness, having that day to only relaxation.
Luscii
Daan Dohmen and Anne Pasdeloup, founder and other people lead hyperlink at Dutch healthtech agency, Luscii, speak about their present trial of the four-day working week.
Why did you resolve to do that trial while you did?
Anne: We had been occupied with methods, apart from vacation, to let individuals have the liberty to spend their time the way in which they need to. We noticed on Twitter one morning that there was an organization that was doing a four-day work week. We thought possibly that’s the answer for us as properly. And we mentioned, ‘Okay, simply take someday to be inventive, take into consideration different stuff’, as a substitute of simply going by means of that rat race, Monday to Friday, weekends and a Monday to Friday once more, simply give them some inventive time. So long as productiveness doesn’t diminish, then possibly that’s actually it.
How is it going thus far?
Anne: Throughout the trial, it was truly the builders who’re actually, actually completely satisfied. I’ve by no means seen happiness as excessive for builders. Our gross sales division really feel a bit bit extra burdened as a result of they really feel like they can not see prospects who need to speak on Fridays.
How a lot cash have you ever spent doing the trial?
Anne: There’s some price in that the folks that now work part-time must go to a full-time contract.
Mainly, everybody will obtained a 20 per cent pay rise both in days off or an precise pay rise as a result of they’d a part-time contract.
How did you measure the success of this trial?
Anne: We’ve mentioned happiness must go up. Productiveness for every staff must say the identical, at the very least not go down. That’s a fairly good baseline to see if something modifications.
Throughout the trial, I used to be monitoring employees by asking, ‘How are you doing? How burdened are you?’ [At the time of interview] we solely had 44 workers, so it was very easy to speak. And naturally, everybody must agree with the modifications and that we’re doing this.
Sick days are one of many issues that we are going to have a look at additionally, ultimately. I suppose that’s certainly the concept that additionally since you’ve taken extra time for you so you are feeling more healthy.
Listed here are some figures off the again of us trialling the four-day work week:
Progress: Common variety of activated sufferers on our platform monthly went up with 16 per cent
Productiveness: Undertaking tickets processed inside three weeks went up by over 10 per cent
Help: Variety of help tickets closed went up by 42 per cent
Workers: Improve in worker happiness by 10 per cent and enhance in worker wellbeing by 13 per cent, 100 per cent of workers help the concept of 4 day week
Daan: If there are any corporations or organisations huge or small, wherever on the earth, then we are going to all the time be more than pleased to supply data or arrange a Zoom name with the intention to let others additionally study what we’ve discovered.
Carnsight Communications
Jess Morgan, founding father of Carnsight Communications, began off her enterprise with a diminished working week.
Why did you resolve to begin your online business with a shorter working week?
Apparently, after I spoke to recruiters and I wasn’t positive of my subsequent step, I talked about transferring elsewhere on a four-day and so they mentioned it was exceptional on the time, which is loopy. That should have been about six or seven years in the past. Mainly, you needed to be in an organization for 5 working days, and then you definately needed to show your price to maneuver to 4 days.
I suppose the opposite key factor on the time was that it was a extremely for fogeys. If you happen to had been an individual who didn’t have youngsters, you didn’t actually really feel like there was a adequate purpose.
‘I talked about transferring elsewhere on a four-day and recruiters mentioned it was exceptional on the time’
I took individuals on for a sure variety of days or hours, I wasn’t taking up five-day salaries immediately. We may very well be a constructing block for brand new corporations and work up step by step. So, it was like a way of life, and maximising productiveness. I believed, properly, truly, I can faucet into individuals for a sure variety of hours or days and construct up the enterprise.
I can’t compete with corporates on salaries, however my intention is for individuals who work flexibly to be rewarded. So for instance, in a four-day working week at my firm, you’ll be rewarded the identical as a five-day working week at an organization of the same dimension. Everybody’s very grown up and trusted. However we get a lot performed, we’ve obtained the correct amount of purchasers.
For me the mannequin is working rather well if I can reward individuals working 4 days with a five-day conventional wage.
The place did you discover your workers?
I employed my first member of employees as an intern, and he or she was nonetheless at college. She was in her ultimate yr of college and on the lookout for a placement. In order that was supreme. We met randomly on Twitter, however it turned out she was on the lookout for a placement. My second worker, who’s nonetheless with me, she’s learning a Grasp’s. So she was one other individual that knew she solely wanted sure days proper from the beginning. When she finishes, she’s truly going to go as much as 4 days. My third worker was a guardian and had a baby who was not at college and wished a job that may permit her to spend a while with him. My fourth worker is one other intern. She is at present doing a spread of placements.
I’m actually keen about my job, however I’m not unrealistic. I do know that folks have gotten lives outdoors. So for those who’re doing one thing you’re keen about in your day while you’re not working with me, then I feel that’s an actual profit.
How do these working constructions have an effect on vacation allowance?
The vacation allowance does consider that the employees are solely working a sure variety of days, as a result of I’ve performed it by means of an HR firm.
Learn extra
What small companies consider the four-day working week – Labour has pledged to make a four-day working week the norm inside ten years. We requested small enterprise house owners what they consider the concept
Third of corporations say four-day week inevitable inside 10 years – 34% of companies count on four-day week to change into a actuality in subsequent ten years, however only one per cent plan to implement it with out chopping pay
Watch extra
Joe Ryle, Director of the 4 Day Week Marketing campaign, speaks at TEDxUniversityofLeeds
