The 4-day working week was first introduced as a trial scheme, where 30 UK businesses took part in working from Monday to Thursday rather than Monday to Friday. On June 1st, over 60 firms will also be taking part in the trial, which will run for 6 months. As more and more companies have become interested in taking part in this trial, our team investigated the pros and cons and came up with the following points.

Pros of a 4-day working week

There are many benefits of working 4 days a week such as:

Happiness

Employees will generally be happier as working 4-days means that they will have a longer weekend, providing them with more free time to do things that contribute towards their happiness such as spending time with family members. This will also help with increasing the physical and mental well-being of staff.

Productivity

By being happy in the office, this will result in an increase in productivity levels as employees will focus on working hard. It also means coming to work can be more enjoyable, as more time will be given for staff members to recharge before coming back to the office.

Reduced expenses and carbon footprint

By working 4 days a week, this will help to save costs in the office as no one will be working in the building. This will also be beneficial to employees, as they will not have to commute to the office for the day. An online report has presented that by moving to a 4-day week, £92 billion has been saved for UK businesses annually.

Employment

The report also showed that recruiting for new jobs has become easier, with almost 63% of employers agreeing that a 4-day working week has helped to attract and retain talent. This is because many people who are searching for job roles will be appealed to companies who offer a 4-day working week as this provides flexibility. If you operate under a 4-day working week, a tip would be to advertise this within job roles as this could make finding your next employee a lot easier.

Cons of working a 4-day working week

Increased stress

Employees may feel the pressure of increasing their workload within 4 days to avoid being behind for the next week. For those with a busy schedule, this could increase stress which will make coming to work less enjoyable. Being stressed in a working environment has many disadvantages which will affect not only the performance of work produced, but also the wellbeing of an individual. It is very important to take regular breaks away from the screen to avoid overworking.

Imbalance of schedule

For employees who work with a specific schedule such as social media managers, working 4 days a week rather than 5 may mean that schedules will have to be adapted to match with the new work schedule. This can also prove to decrease productivity for employees. Although there is only 1 day taken out of the week, many companies have found it difficult to adjust to the new changes as it does not match with the needs of the business.

Longer working hours

Some businesses may extend their working hours to make up for the day lost. Longer working hours could increase stress and tiredness for employees, therefore leaving an impact on their working performance.

Could a 4-day working week be the future?

If the trial proves to be effective and produce positive effects on both employees and the business, the 4-day working week could potentially become a permanent procedure. Although this may be optional, the team at 84 Salop Street believes that many businesses will prefer a 4-day working week compared to a 5-day working week.

Our thoughts

Working for 4-days has many benefits which will help to increase the overall working environment for both employees and employers. However, we believe that before taking on a 4-day working week, it is important to outweigh the pros and cons to ensure that this is something your business can take on in the future. If this could be something that may prove to be difficult, the best advice would be to reconsider the decision to avoid any mistakes from occurring down the line.

What are your thoughts on this?