Four-Day Week - The Next Stage for Flexible-Working?

Is a Four-Day Week the Next Stage for Flexible-Working?

As insurance recruitment specialists, at Aston Charles we know that flexibility around working hours and working location is one factor in attracting candidates to jobs and has been for many years.

Though flexible-working has always been a draw for potential candidates, the Coronavirus pandemic has now made it far more normal within the work force, with lots of people now working from home, hot-desking, job sharing, and taking advantage of other modes of flexible-working practices.

As flexible-working evolves, we are getting asked by candidates about the possibility of a four-day working week.

What is the four-day working week?

Generally, the four-day working week can be understood in two ways.

One is to work compressed hours within four days. In this model, employees are expected to do 37 hours of work, but over four days instead of five. This is attractive for some employees, because it allows the opportunity to have a full day off per week – which may reduce childcare costs, allow them to pursue a hobby or take long weekends. However, during those four days the stress may be considerable, and it could be questioned whether the employee can maintain productivity while working such long days.

The other form of four-day working week is the 100:80:100 model. This type of flexible-working means that employees only work 80% of their usual hours (four normal-length days instead of five.) They will continue to get 100% of their pay and make a commitment to provide 100% productivity.

Can a four-day week work?

Instinctively, most people would say “no.” After all, how can a work force provide the same amount of work in four days as they would in five?

Henley Business School did extensive research into both types of four-day working week in 2021, and discovered a number of interesting statistics:

68% of the businesses that offer a four-day working week believe that this helps them recruit the best talent to their job vacancies.

It can also reduce business costs, with 66% of businesses saying that moving to a four-day working week has reduced their costs. 64% of employers indicated that their employees are actually more productive, and produce better quality work, than they used to produce under a five-day working week.[i]

In addition to these business-optimising statistics, there are also the positive effects on the environment (for example, fewer cars on the road) and on employee wellbeing. 75% of businesses say that employees are happier, and 78% say they are less stressed. Inevitably, happier workers are likely to produce better quality, more consistent work – as well as contributing to a culture that will attract a wider pool of potential job candidates to new roles.[ii]

Has it been tried?

In June 2022, a number of UK companies started trialling a four-day working week, in a pilot scheme attempting to establish whether this is a productive working practice. This trial was a 100:80:100 model.

Already, several months into the trial, of 41 companies responding to a survey, 95% said that productivity was either equal to the productivity before, or had improved.  86% of the companies were considering a continuation of the four-day week after the trial had ended.[iii]

There are also examples of insurance brokers that have accommodated a four-day working week. In February 2022, the Digital Insurance Broker IG04 started offering four day working to its employees, with the intention of improving wellbeing and productivity for employees.[iv]

Is it that easy?

Unsurprisingly, there are complications and concerns for business owners around attempting a four-day working week. There are also some sectors where it will work more naturally than for others.

One of the biggest barriers for insurance companies is the need to respond to clients quickly. 75% of businesses who do not have four-day week say that the need to be available to clients is the biggest concern when it comes to a four-day week.[v]

There are ways to overcome this; such as giving different employees different days off. InsureTech and FinTech is on the rise, allowing more and more services to become automated. This may allow businesses to function better with much lower levels of staff working on any given day.

A number of employers in the Henley Business School study had concerns about the four-day week being difficult to manage, or causing resentment among staff – possibly even accusations of discrimination. Certainly, any trial of a four-day working week would need to be thought through carefully, with HR teams doing research and planning prior to instigating any new systems, ensuring that the system is fair for all staff. Indeed, the findings of Henley Business School was that an ill thought through four-day week could in fact be counterproductive. They suggest starting slowly, having “clear guidelines” and collating data on how the new hours are benefitting the company.[vi]

Flexible working for the best candidates

While the four-day week will not work for every company, it is well worth full consideration for its potential to boost productivity and support employee wellbeing. As with most types of flexible-working practice, having a four-day working week on offer can attract a larger pool of candidates when looking to fill job roles – allowing your company to continue to employ the brightest and the best insurance candidates as your business develops.

[i] Henley Business School (2021). The four-day week. The pandemic and the evolution of flexible working. A WHITE PAPER FROM HENLEY BUSINESS SCHOOL. Available at: https://assets.henley.ac.uk/v3/fileUploads/Four-day-week-white-paper-FINAL.pdf. Page 6-7.

[ii] Ibid. Page 7-9.

[iii] Lockhart, C (2022). At the halfway point of a UK 6-month trial of a day 4 week pilot programme feedback is flowing in. [online] Available at: https://www.4dayweek.com/news-posts/uk-four-day-week-pilot-mid-results [Accessed 3 Oct. 2022].

[iv] Rafferty, I. (2022). IGO4 adopts four-day working week for 300 staff. [online] Insurance Times. Available at: https://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/news/igo4-adopts-four-day-working-week-for-300-staff/1440271.article [Accessed 3 Oct. 2022].

[v] Henley Business School (2021). The four-day week. The pandemic and the evolution of flexible working. A WHITE PAPER FROM HENLEY BUSINESS SCHOOL. Available at: https://assets.henley.ac.uk/v3/fileUploads/Four-day-week-white-paper-FINAL.pdf. Page 11.

[vi] Ibid. Page 13.