Trials to test a 4-day working week have already taken place across the UK, Europe and North America, with South Africa’s official pilot scheme kicking off in June.
Say goodbye to work culture?
In a recent poll by leading recruiter Robert Walters of 2 000 working professionals, almost half of the respondents (46%) stated that they would be willing to give up work socials and relationships with colleagues in favour of a 4-day working week. This highlights the ‘not-so appealing side’ of the 4-day week to employers, with office relationships taking the biggest hit.
These findings comes ahead of the official pilot scheme for the 4 day working week that will be kicking off in South Africa in early June.
“Workplaces have only just turned a corner and started to see more faces in the office. With that has come a burst of energy, collaboration, creativity, and productivity. It is a slight kick in the teeth to hear that a progressive well-being initiative such as a 4-day week could have such a detrimental impact on workplace culture and business relationships,” comments Jasmine Araujo, Senior Manager of Robert Walters.
“With the trials of 4-days being so new to many organisations, the long-term impact is hard to ascertain. However with 46% of professionals willing to forego socials and business relationships, companies should be mindful that poor company culture comes at a price.
“As with what we experienced with remote working and then the move to hybrid, any change in the workplace brings about its challenges. A 4-day week will be no different, and business leaders need to tread with caution.”
Whilst professionals seem willing to give up the social side of their working lives, almost a third (27%) are also inclined to forego hybrid work arrangements. However, it seems far less (16%) are prone to sacrifice training opportunities in favour of less working days.
Entitlement at its best?
According to the findings from Robert Walters, a staggering 90% of professionals would be keen for their employer to implement a 4-day week. In fact, a 4-day week now tops the poll on most the desirable perks when applying for a job, with 44% stating that this would appeal to them most on a job description, followed by the ability to work from anywhere (38%).
With over half of professionals who would like a 4-day week expecting their full pay to remain the same, debates have begun on whether the post-pandemic workforce is ‘the most entitled yet’ – with fewer professionals feeling responsibility for the financial health or stability of their employer.
Just 16% of professionals stated that they would take a 10-15% pay increase over the option of a 4-day week, and it seems office-based soft perks such as work socials or complimentary lunch or breakfasts are less appealing in the face of fewer working days – with just 2% stating that they would opt for this over a 4-day working week.
Araujo adds: “It is absolutely right that workplaces should be held more accountable for the wellbeing of their employees, however, professionals need to be considerate to the fact this responsibility goes both ways, and they have a duty to contribute to the success of a business, especially in this current period of economic uncertainty.”
The Hidden Data
Ahead of the upcoming trials in South Africa, official trials for the 4-day week have already taken place across the UK, Europe and North America across 60+ companies and around 2,900 employees. The conclusion of some of these trials has been highlighted by many as a resounding success.
However, when this data is combined with findings from the Robert Walters poll, it seems that possibly only one side of the picture has been painted, as a result it’s also important to consider the potentially negative outcomes of a change in working days
The Key findings from the UK’s 4-day Week Pilot Trial include:
- Overall working hours only reduced by 4 hours – falling short of the 32 it was meant to achieve.
- 28% reported either working more hours, or no change to their 5-days a week hours.
- 49% reported no change in the typical amount of overtime they do – further 17% reported doing more overtime.
- 22% reported an increase in burnout-symptoms.
- 15% reported an increase in sleeping difficulties – further 45% stated that their sleeping quality hadn’t improved/changed significantly.
- 36% reported no-change to work-life balance – further 10% reported a decrease.
- 26% reported no change to work-ability – with 19% reporting a decrease.
- Just 2% stated workload had decreased – 20% reported an increase, and 78% reported no-change.
- 36% reported work-intensity had increased.
- 42% reported an increase in complexity of their work.
“Highlighting this data is by no means a way of pointing out that a 4-day week cannot work. Just as with every kind of trial, a balanced view of the results needs to be provided to assist us in understanding what does and doesn’t work. There is definitely a place for the 4-day working week in business but maybe it’s not the silver bullet to increase productivity and improved wellbeing, as first thought,” Araujo concludes.
