Most of us enjoy a Bank Holiday and wish a four-day working week was the standard. Under the government plans to boost flexible working, employees will be able to request a four-day working week. Here we examine the practicalities of this new working week.
The four-day week: what does it mean?
Working life has changed since the Covid pandemic. Workers are increasingly looking for greater balance in their lives and working from home remains a feature of many roles.
The Four Day Week Campaign group maintains that shortening the working week will bring plenty of benefits. It cites a range of advantages, from better mental and physical health to increased productivity and a reduced carbon footprint.
Currently employees can request flexible working from their first day of employment, although the employer isn’t required to accept. This legislation has been in place since April 2024. However, a four-day week wouldn’t necessarily mean less work. You may still have to complete five days’ worth of tasks, simply in fewer hours.
It has been trialled in the UK and elsewhere, at businesses including supermarkets, banks and engineering companies, with varying levels of success.
A four-day week would not work for all industries
Implementing a four-day week is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It may lend itself best to office-based workers or those who can easily work remotely. Or to industries like hospitality where differing shift patterns make it possible to cover all seven days. Tight production deadlines in manufacturing, where working from home isn’t possible, mean it could be harder to implement.
There are additional challenges. The policy would have to apply to all employees, for fairness. Would that work for every business? Companies would also have to address their culture and tackle the views of those who may be resistant to change.
The right to disconnect could soon be law in the UK
In related news, UK office workers may soon be able to ignore after-hours work emails or calls – legally. Over half (55%) of adults check work emails and messages at least once a week out of working hours, according to a survey from Naturecan. The same percentage even do this during a week’s holiday.
The right-to-disconnect proposals are part of Labour’s initiative called New Deal for Working People. They were suggested before the party won the 2024 general election.
Disconnecting is already a legal right in some countries. For instance, French workers in companies with 50 or more staff have been able to disconnect since 2017. Australians can legally ignore out-of-hours emails as of August 2024, and it’s a right in Ireland and Belgium.
It’s a complex area and one which employers and employees will be watching closely. And, as with the four-day week, it may not be easy to implement in certain industries or roles.
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