Is a four-day week the future of work?
Businesses and campaigners say a shorter working week could hold the key to boosting productivity
The standard five-day working week could become a thing of the past, as an increasing number of businesses across the UK adopt a four-day model.
More than 100 employers across the UK have now made the switch, which campaigners say can boost wellbeing, improve gender quality and reduce carbon emissions.
But businesses which have implemented a four-day week without a drop in pay also say that it has spurred them on to boost their productivity.
With the UK economy entering a recession and real wages falling, could a four-day week be part of the solution to the UK's productivity crisis?
The UK's productivity puzzle explained
Founder and director of the 4 Day Week UK campaign group Joe Ryle says there are myriad benefits to be had by shortening the working week.
Many of these benefits became apparent after the increase in remote and flexible working during the Covid pandemic gave employees a taste of a better work-life balance, according to Ryle.
The rapid switch to remote working also proved them to be more adaptable than employers realised, he says.
Potential benefits include better health as a result of fewer people suffering from burnout and stress. Workers in the UK put in some of the longest average hours in Europe, and there are signs that this beginning to take a toll on the labour force, with record numbers of people now economically inactive due to ill-health.
More free time can instead increase people's wellbeing by allowing them to rest, spend time with family and friends, learn a new skill, or be more active in their community, Ryle says. He notes that these activities are likely to be more environmentally sustainable than commuting and working.
Longer weekends could also promote gender equality, as paid and unpaid work is split more evenly between men and women. Women in the UK are currently three times more likely to work part-time than men, according to the ONS.
However, it is the mounting evidence that a four-day week can lead to increased productivity that may be one of the most valuable advantages to be found, Ryle says.
Workers are experiencing burnout, overwork, stress and they're not finding enough time for the other bits of their lives outside of work.
"Productivity goes up. They work smarter."
The prospect of productivity gains represents a powerful argument in the UK, where productivity growth has been weak since the 2008 financial crisis, dragging down economic growth and real wages. The impact of years of low productivity growth is now being felt as the public struggles to meet rising living costs.
Ryle has observed several organisations across the UK which have made the switch to a four day week.
When working hours are precious, companies scrutinise their objectives, and how effectively time is being used to meet them, much more closely, he says.
Reducing working hours forces those companies to "work smarter, not harder".
“Because people are better rested, they have more time to live happier and more fulfilled lives,” Ryle explains.
"But also, productivity goes up. They work more effectively, more efficiently, they work smarter, and they’re better motivated to perform in their jobs.
“It is about identifying what your organisation is trying to achieve, and then being more strategic about making sure its meeting those aims.
“And often, you start to see that lots of work is actually unnecessary or isn’t contributing to the overall goals of the organisation."
The public are positive about the idea of a four-day week.
Last month, 4 Day Week UK revealed that more than 100 organisations across the country had been accredited as four-day employers.
Another 70 UK workplaces are taking part in the world’s largest pilot of a four-day week.
As part of the six-month pilot, researchers from Oxford, Cambridge and Boston universities will track the impact of a shorter work week on employees and employers.
The study is being coordinated by 4 Day Week Global, a not-for-profit founded by Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhurst after the pair implemented the idea at their financial services firm in New Zealand, and includes businesses in the United States and Ireland.
While the UK leg of the pilot has yet to conclude, a survey at the halfway stage in September found that a vast majority of UK participants reported the trial was going 'well'. Several have already confirmed their intention to make the switch permanent.
More than 80% of pilot companies reported their productivity had remained the same or improved, despite the reduction in working hours.
Meanwhile, findings from the US and Ireland have shown that a majority of businesses increased revenue over the course of the pilot, even as burnout reported among staff decreased.
“It has fundamentally changed the way we operate, and it has really worked for us.”
PureFluent, a business which helps online retailers provide their services in multiple languages, is one of the 100 UK companies that has made the switch.
CEO Tim Branton says that he originally became interested in the idea as a way to thank employees for their loyalty during the Covid pandemic, when sales reduced substantially.
“We didn’t have the option of recruiting more people, so we had to figure out ways to allow them to get the job done more efficiently,” he explains, adding that busy colleagues were initially sceptical of the idea.
Instead, the company carried out a thorough review of how staff used their time to identify processes which could be eliminated or automated.
PureFluent's entire team of software engineers were repurposed towards developing tools to help colleagues become more efficient.
There were various false starts, Branton admits, including challenges establishing a rota that would enable PureFluent to still help support clients five days a week.
But he says adopting a four-day week “is ultimately much more achievable than people think”.
Tim Branton, CEO, PureFluent
Tim Branton, CEO, PureFluent
Now all of PureFluent’s 15 full-time employees work 32-hours a week.
They spend their extra time with children, catching up on chores, resting or learning new skills. At work, they feel more focused and fulfilled, Branton says.
Branton has also noticed other impacts, such as a ‘levelling effect’ for employees - often mothers - who previously worked reduced hours and felt they were missing out.
The move has reaped financial benefits too. Happier staff have led to more client referrals, and higher staff retention has reduced turnover and training costs.
Technical solutions developed as part of the push to become more efficient, such as an automated payment process for freelance translators, now set the company apart from competitors.
In 2022 it achieved its best ever sales.
Branton credits the turnaround to the “laser-like focus on productivity” required once the decision was made to move to a shorter working week.
“We had to change our productivity in order to do this,” Branton explains.
“It has fundamentally changed the way we operate, and it has really worked for us.”
Thryve increased revenue by 28% while reducing sickness by 61%
Eavie Mickley is Operations Manager at Thryve, a recruitment firm based in London that specialises in the European tech market. She led her office’s transition to a four-day week over a year ago, and says it has been a “game changer”.
She says Thryve's management decided to trial a shorter week with no loss of pay after noticing high levels of burnout among staff and reading about the potential benefits of a four-day week.
The impacts were tracked carefully throughout the process using key indicators. They soon revealed a number of improvements: staff absenteeism reduced by 61%, while revenue increased by 28%. Staff also reported increased levels of happiness, wellbeing and productivity.
The trial was made permanent after six months.
A long lead-in time was key to a successful transition, according to Mickley.
Prior to sharing the plans with staff, Thryve's leadership began exploring a number of efficiency improvements, such as streamlining meetings, encouraging the use of tools like Slack, and holding organisational training sessions.
This meant that although staff were initially “apprehensive” when the announcement was made, steps had already been taken to “subconsciously change people’s habits” to make the change easier.
“We really planned and put an emphasis on the work behind the scenes prior to implementation," Mickley says.
Eavie Mickley, Operations Manager, Thryve Talent (Credit: Thryve Talent)
Eavie Mickley, Operations Manager, Thryve Talent (Credit: Thryve Talent)
Thryve’s transition required minimal capital investment compared to PureFluent. Instead, Mickley describes the experience as predominantly a “mindset change” and echoes Ryle’s comments about “working smarter, not harder”.
Meetings are more productive, staff more confident, and the company as a whole has become more professional, working with more selective and higher-value clients, Mickley says.
She now mentors other companies trialling a four-day week. The benefits are a “no brainer”, but she warns her mentees that they cannot assume the benefits will follow simply as a result of cutting hours.
Rather, a shorter work week should be seen as the culmination of a thorough and detailed process to become more productive.
Thryve's new working model was based on detailed research into how staff used their time. It revealed that Fridays were relatively unproductive, with clients difficult to reach and minds already focused on the weekend ahead. Mondays were also relatively unproductive, with staff unfocused and unrested.
As a result, all 27 staff now work Monday to Thursday. Unexpectedly, Monday is now the team’s most productive day of the week.
A longer weekend means “people are literally bouncing through the door” on Monday, Mickley says.
Mickley recognises that Thryve’s model, which found that a common, top-down approach helped ensure staff buy-in to the transition, may not suit other workplaces. But a strong evidence base and attention to detail are universally important.
“It’s not just because you’re losing a day that you’re going to become more productive. It’s the mindset around it and all the little things you do behind the scenes that is key to being successful.”
1 in 3 employers think a four-day week will become a reality for most UK workers in the next decade
A recent report by the CIPD, an industry body for HR professionals, found that more businesses expected a four-day week to boost productivity rather than harm it.
But only 2% of businesses surveyed that had not done so already planned to reduce working hours in the future.
More than half said that while a shorter week was a good idea, it was not feasible for them.
Branton says this attitude is typical of the UK's attitude to productivity challenges.
Although his initial motivation was to find a way to give back to his staff, he now views the decision to move to a four-day week differently.
He says businesses should commit to the change first, and then set out how to achieve it - and be prepared to invest if necessary.
“It’s not about whether you’re a nice person. It’s a hard thing to do. But when you do it, it really pays dividends for the business,” he says.
“Think of it as an opportunity to improve your productivity, and just get on and do it!”
4 Day Week UK is aiming for a 32-hour working week to be the norm by the end of the next decade.
Ryle acknowledges that this is an ambitious target, and that some industries will be harder to transition than others. But he says the current five-day week is a relic from a bygone era.
“It was invented 100 years ago, and despite all the productivity gains in the last few decades, we’ve not seen working hours reduce really,” he says.
“We’re long overdue an update.”
Until the 1980s, productivity gains were matched by significant reductions in working hours across the developed world.
But in recent years this has levelled off - suggesting further reductions in working hours will require a step change in productivity.
Achieving this will require government support. 4 Day Week UK is calling for changes to employment legislation to define the normal working week at 32-hours on average, and for government to coordinate efforts to implement this across different sectors.
It will also require countering the argument that a shorter working week will hurt the economy amid a recession and cost of living crisis.
Politicians including former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg MP have instead suggested removing limits on maximum working hours, while casting doubt on the productivity of flexible workers.
But Ryle says such arguments share a striking similarity to those made against the move to a five-day work week decades ago, and “tend to be proved wrong overtime”.
Peter Dowd MP, who has introduced a Bill to Parliament to amend the Working Time Regulations, agrees. In October he told the House of Commons a 32-hour week was a "multi-dividend policy" and said the UK should be "leading the world in moving to a four-day week".
Pointing to productivity gains of PureFluent, Thryve and others - and showing they can be replicated in other settings - will be key for campaigners like Ryle and Dowd to bring business leaders and government around to the idea.
“If you look back in history, it does tend to take a decade or two for something like this to be implemented across the economy,” Ryle says. “But there are encouraging signs."
“It’s an idea which is taking off.”
"The movement for a shorter working week is growing in strength and momentum."
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