A case for the 4 Day Working Week 

What a great out of hours message! 

“Thanks for your call, our opening hours are Monday to Thursday 9 - 5, If you’re calling outside these hours, we’re probably busy with other things, like life, horse-riding, karate, or good ole-fashioned sleep. Please leave a message and we’ll get back to soon.” 

This is the kind of message you’ll hear if you try to contact Indy Cube in Wales. They’re just one of the many companies opting for a 4 day week & employees retaining full salary!

While they open from Monday to Thursday not all companies taking the 4 day working option do this, some still open Monday to Friday but just schedule their workforce over 4 days but keep them on their regular 5 day salary.

So the idea is that you keep your pay, but work fewer hours; having a day off in the week to pursue your own interests or to spend time with the family, which will also save many on commute and childcare costs.  

Companies such as Glasgow-based marketing firm Pursuit Marketing switched to a four-day week three years ago, giving every employee Fridays off without cutting pay. Lorraine Gray, their Marketing Operations Director said; "When we raised it initially, our finance director looked at it as just a salary cost," But she says that since then, the gains have been obvious.

Productivity has increased by about 30%, sickness leave is at an all-time low and there have been unexpected cost savings too: the company no longer needs to pay professional recruiters to hire staff, as so many people want to work for them. The 4 day week is a massive attraction.

Another company Radioactive PR, in the UK opted to go for a 6 week trial initially and found that they achieved just as much and more than when they had the 5 day week. They say happy employees work harder – the 4 day week enables employees to have a better worklife balance and less stress and health issues.

Could more business follow suit?

Those who have called for the introduction of a four-day week include the Green Party in the UK and Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress. O’Grady argues that where businesses have increased their profits as a result of automation, that success should be shared with workers in the form of reduced hours: “It’s time to share the wealth from new technology, not allow those at the top to grab it for themselves,” she says. 

There is both opportunity and need, on health, happiness and business grounds.

The four-day week doesn’t mean working 40 hours over four days; nor is it about shift patterns. Rather it is about working a 28- to 32-hour week but being paid for a 35- to 40-hour, traditional full-time job.

In Edinburgh, workers at the tech firm Administrate are also on four days a week, although the office is open five – some people work Monday to Thursday, others Tuesday to Friday. They find that the practice is great for the retention of staff, “who wants to move back to working 5 days a week?”

Administrate introduced the four-day week in 2015. “It was an experiment,” John Peebles, its chief executive, says. “We wanted to see: if we invest in our people, will the financial outcome be better than if we pinched every penny?”

Overwhelmingly, the scientific evidence has said that working shorter hours makes us more productive.

A marketing company in Glasgow, Pursuit Marketing, that switched 120 people to four days in late 2016 claims it has been instrumental in a 30% increase in productivity.

Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand trust business that supervises nearly NZ$200bn in assets, switched its 240 employees to a four-day week and has reported a 20% increase in productivity.

So what about Irish businesses?

Recruitment firm the ICE Group has recently announced the move to a 4 day week, they say they want to reward hard-working staff by reducing the length of their week. They’re confident of the move saying that research shows that having a three day weekend creates a more focused and energised workforce. 

The company has over 50 employees and offices in Galway, Dublin, Limerick, Sligo and Sydney. Employees will work an additional hour in the four days that they are rostered and their holidays will not be affected by the new measures.

Margaret Cox, Director of ICE Group, said that by adopting more flexible ways of working, the company will "motivate, encourage and retain staff".

Ms Cox said: "We know that a happier and valued workforce will result in a positive working environment and company growth. Working effectively now means working less and having a three-day weekend enables people to have quality time outside of their job to do the things they want with the people they love.” Adding "We value our employees and want to ensure that their quality of life both inside and out of work is as good as it can be.”

What do you think?

Check out jobs at the ICE GROUP: https://www.icejobs.ie/about-us/join-us-work-for-us

For more information about the whole 4 Day Week thing check out this link; https://4dayweek.ie/