Workaholic bosses might not like it but UK businesses are being urged to join a six-month trial of a four-day working week, for which staff will actually receive 100% of their pay, in exchange for their commitment to maintain “at least” 100% productivity.
Run by “does what it says on the tin” organisation 4 Day Week Global and the Autonomy thinktank, the programme will be monitored by Cambridge and Oxford Universities in order to measure the four-day working week’s impact on staff productivity and wellbeing, as well as the impact on the environment and gender equality.
In 2019, prior to the mass shift to remote working, Autonomy published a report which found “strong indications that reducing the working week can help reduce air pollution and our overall carbon footprint”.
According to Brendan Burchell, professor in the Social Sciences at Cambridge University, with the rise of technology allowing to maintain productivity, “the time has come for more organisations to take the leap and unravel the practicalities”.
Burcell added: “This scheme has tremendous potential to progress from conversations about the general advantages of a shorter working week to focused discussions on how organisations can implement it in the best possible way.”
One of the businesses which is taking part in the pilot is the Edinburgh-based Canon, which found that the work-life balance of its 140 employees had changed “substantially” during the pandemic.
Canon president Ken Sutherland said: “As a responsive employer we are always looking at how we can adapt our working practices to ensure that employees find their time with us is meaningful, fulfilling and productive. For this reason, we’re keen to pilot a four-day week to see if it can work for us.”
Last year, UK-based fintech Atom bank introduced a four-day working week for all its employees with no change in salary, while supermarket Morrisons chain also announced plans to shift to a four-day working week, keeping employee pay the same.
However, this was only made available to head office staff in Bradford, who also had to work one Saturday per month to recoup the lost time.
Autonomy co-director Kyle Lewis said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for organisations who want to be pioneers and trial a four-day week as a way of supporting and empowering workers, enhancing organisational productivity and having a positive impact on our society and the environment.”
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