The four-day week: Leaders are on board

Don’t take our word for it – a survey conducted with more than 70 UK companies on a six-month pilot scheme run by non-profit 4 Day Week Global has turned up some surprising results.

According to a report in Fortune, at the halfway point 88% of leaders say the four-day week is “working well”, with 86% of the companies taking part saying they will keep the schedule in place after the scheme finishes in November.

UNLEASH reported on the trial back in August at its outset before any results were in, but some encouraging anecdotal evidence had already been accrued. As UNLEASH’s Allie Nawrat detailed:

Other participants noted that having an extra day of the weekend meant they were able to take up new hobbies – examples include training for a triathlon, fishing, roller skating, and cooking classes – without missing out on precious time with their families.

Another Charity Bank employee, Mark Howland, who is the director of marketing and communications, commented: “With my day off I’ve been going on quite long bike rides, looking after myself, taking some time out and then having the whole weekend to get things done around the house and to spend time with family.”

The four-day week works

Now, with around eight weeks to go, the four-day week trial has clearly been a success, with 49% of respondents saying productivity has improved and 46% saying it has remained the same.

Getting every company to follow through with a trial is tricky, though – approximately 20% of companies drop out before the scheme is implemented. Speaking to Fortune, Joe O’Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, explained that most common reason companies drop out is through “…leadership overthinking it and getting cold feet.

“They start trying to fix every possible problem or issue before they actually run their trial, which is impossible, because a lot of the productivity gains and process improvements are ground up and led by teams.”

Regardless of the one-in-five dropout rate, trialing a four-day week has clearly worked for businesses in many different sectors, and could yet be a key employee benefit offering to combat attrition and sharpen your talent acquisition strategy.

As the chance of layoffs increases and recession bites, a better work-life balance at no extra cost to the business and at no loss of productivity – and, in fact, a 50% chance of productivity GAINS – could look appealing to a lot of employers.

The big question is – do you believe it could work for you?

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