A 4-day work week is better than a 5-day one, feel 86% of firms in UK after trial
Working 4-days a week helps employees reduce their expenses. Photo: Pexels
Over the last few months, a four-day working week has been discussed multiple times. Many chose a four-day week over a traditional five-day one, while others decided to give it a pass. Many firms in the UK who had a four-day work-week trial, have now decided to switch to it.
Many organisations in the UK have tried and tested the four-days-a-week working schedule and they have now decided to continue the same, reports BBC. More than 70 firms participated in this trial.
If you do the maths, in a four-day working week, employees get paid 100% for 80% of their normal working hours.
How was the trial done: The trial was conducted by 4 Day Week Global, a group campaigning for a shorter working week with Autonomy, a think tank and researchers at Cambridge and Oxford University.
The data was collected from 73 companies. Out of the 73 firms, 41 responded to a survey midway through the scheme. The results concluded that 86% of those who were surveyed will continue with the four-day week policy after the trials are done.
However, some organisations have found this four-day week trickier.
“We are learning that for many, it is a fairly smooth transition and for some, there are some understandable hurdles - especially among those which have comparatively fixed or inflexible practices, systems, or cultures which date back well into the last century,” Joe O'Connor, chief executive of 4 Day Week Global, told the BBC.
How is it beneficial? Most of the firms have said that this pattern works well for them. Around 95% of these firms did not see a change in the productivity of the employees.
The working pattern is also beneficial for the employees as it gives them an extra paid off per week. It has also helped the employees save commuting costs as well as childcare costs.
What comprises a four-day working week?
Working for just four days a week will not affect the total number of hours you spend working in a week. The total number of working hours per week are same in both 4-day and 5-day formats. Employees following the four-day working week have to complete at least 10 hours per day instead of the usual 8 hours.