What is the 4-day week and why is it so popular?
Everyone is talking about the 4-day week and more companies are converting every day. What actually is the 4-day week and what impact could this have on businesses?
Everyone is talking about the 4-day week and more companies are converting every day. What actually is the 4-day week and what impact could this have on businesses?
4-day week stats are flying around everywhere on the internet, employers and employees alike can’t seem to get enough.
Now, a recent study in the UK including 61 companies and 2,900 workers showed 92% of the organisations wanted to continue their 4-day week.
But what does the 4-day week actually entail and why is it becoming so popular?
Read on and we’ll cover:
The idea behind the 4-day week is exactly like it sounds: rather than working the traditional 5 days a week, a work week will only be 4 days, but with the same pay and benefits. With longer weekends, 4-day Week Global believes both employees and employers will benefit through:
📈 Boosted productivity
⭐️ Increased talent retention
🌎 Reduced climate impact
💛 Improved well-being for employees
Companies like Azavea and Unity have converted to this way of working, as well as Wonde who are currently hiring. On Jobs For Good we have companies such as Driftime Media and Ecosia that offer 4-day work weeks. They consistently get a higher rate of applications than those not offering a short work week.
Having completed multiple successful trials across the world, including countries such as the UK, Japan, USA and Sweden, it’s likely this is not the last we’ve seen of the 4-day week.
However, is a 4-day work week only positive? What could the impact be for businesses establishing a shorter workweek around the world?
There are plenty of benefits that come along with introducing a 4-day week, according to reports.
As a matter of fact, a global trial, involving 91 companies, saw an increase of 35% in revenue.
Offering a 4-day week is a unique way to standout to candidates.
During the UK trial, companies claimed that their job applications went up 88%! Our blog post on how to create a great candidate experience dig deeper into how to attract workers that align with your company's passion.
By working one day less a week there are multiple factors that have a positive impact on the environment.
Workers can get more rest and take time to care for their well-being, both mentally and physically.
In the UK trial, 71% employees were found to have reduced levels of burnout and 43% felt an improvement in their mental health.
However, there are certain aspect of the 4-day week that could prove difficult.
Certain companies won’t be able to commit to a 4-day week due to their unavailability to customers. Customer support teams for instances will need to think about how this is communicated to customers when they need urgent help.
The Hawthorne effect is the principle that when people are exposed to a new system, they assume it to be good just because it’s new. There is the possibility that the positive feedback and results have only come since the 4-day work week because it is a novelty.
A way around this could perhaps be rethinking the way we approach work and making it a bit more fluid. By making working hours adaptable to certain individuals, we will see an increase in productivity and all positive matters as well.
What do you think of the 4-day work week, and do you see it becoming the new normal? Let us know on LinkedIn and Twitter.