{"id":3137,"date":"2023-03-23T16:40:19","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T16:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brandpointzero.com\/?p=3137"},"modified":"2023-06-30T14:33:47","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T14:33:47","slug":"not-ready-for-a-4-day-week-theres-still-plenty-you-can-learn-from-the-uk-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brandpointzero.com\/not-ready-for-a-4-day-week-theres-still-plenty-you-can-learn-from-the-uk-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Not ready for a 4-day week? There\u2019s still plenty you can learn from the UK trial."},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve been following the UK trial of a 4-day working week<\/a> with interest here at BrandPointZero, because anything that impacts organisational culture and gives businesses new ways to attract and retain great talent is very much our Employer Brand jam.<\/p>\n

The results are now in<\/a>, and they\u2019re overwhelmingly positive \u2013 of the 61 businesses that took part in the six-month trial, over 90% have opted to continue with a 4-day\/32 hour week for their employees beyond the trial period, with no reduction in their previous pay. Good news, and the first step towards the UK becoming less wedded to the Monday-Friday 40-hour contract, which has been the norm for over a hundred years and is arguably no longer fit for purpose.<\/p>\n

As a Strategist, it got me thinking about goals and strategies \u2013 is a 4-day week the goal in this scenario, or just one path your organisation could follow? And if so, what\u2019s the ultimate objective?<\/p>\n

It is, of course, about hitting your business targets whilst maintaining a high level of employee happiness and wellbeing, which in turn comes with a whole raft of other benefits, like higher attraction and lower attrition and absence. Many of the businesses in the study reported that they not only maintained their profits on fewer hours, but actually increased them. So it turns out that profits are linked to productivity rather than hours worked, which anyone who does a full-time job in four days by choice (myself included) knew already.<\/p>\n

What was most interesting for us about the study was learning about the steps the participating businesses took to prepare for shifting to a 4-day week. You can\u2019t just take a 40-hour culture and squash it into 32 hours; you have to make changes to help employees be more productive.<\/p>\n

Which begs the question, why wouldn\u2019t ALL organisations want to make these changes, if we know it increases employee happiness and productivity? A 4-day week might not be the goal for your business just yet (or indeed ever, it doesn\u2019t work for everyone), but there are still plenty of things organisations can do to foster a culture of happier, less stressed employees, whilst laying the foundations for potential future change. Here are four focus areas<\/strong> to consider:<\/p>\n