REWARD
Is the future four?
The CIPP’s policy and research team dive into the four-day working week pilot, which saw organisations allow employees to work a four-day week with no impact to the pay they received T he four-day working week trial was a ground-breaking study, following the popularity of hybrid and flexible Additionally, it aimed to demonstrate how the shorter working week has the potential to improve: l employee well-being
“The health and well-being of employees also improved, with significant increases observed in physical and mental health, time spent exercising and overall life and job satisfaction. Rates of stress, burnout and fatigue all fell, while problems with sleep declined. “Environmental outcomes were also encouraging, with commuting time falling across the full sample by a half hour per week.” Global outlook Trials also took place in Belgium, where a Bill came into force in November 2021 allowing employees to decide whether to work four or five days a week. Meanwhile, it’s currently being trialled in New Zealand and Australia. In Iceland, researchers labelled the pilot as a success and in the United States, it’s also proven to be palatable. The CIPP’s research The CIPP’s policy team released its own Quick Polls throughout 2022 and 2023 to find out what payroll professionals and members thought about the trial. One of the polls asked, ‘Do you feel a four-day working week is plausible for payroll departments?’ We received a staggering 927 responses. Almost a quarter (23.4%) of respondents said no, and over three quarters (76.6%) felt a four-day working week would be plausible. The team then followed up with another poll, ‘Have you implemented a four-day working week?’ 76% of respondents answered ‘no’, indicating that many organisations don’t currently have plans to trial or implement a four-day working week.
working after the global pandemic and the changes it bought to the UK job industry. What was the trial about? On 6 June 2022, a six-month pilot began called the ‘4 Day Week Global’, in which 70 UK companies and over 3,300 workers voluntarily took part. This research was based on a foundation established to explore working practices, the future of work and workplace well-being. This programme allowed researchers to analyse what the future of work will look like and how employee well-being and business productivity can be considered for the 21st century. Programmes were based on the ‘100-80-100’ model, where employees received 100% of their pay for working 80% of the time, in exchange for 100% productivity. This was meant to signify happier, more engaged and more productive employees, all while reducing a company’s carbon footprint, hence creating a more sustainable future. The pilot programme offered many levels of support for businesses, from a self-guided programme, to a group programme to one-to-one support for larger organisations. A good or bad appetite? The pilot aimed to demonstrate that adopting a four-day week would result in an increase in productivity in businesses all over the world, across a broad range of industries.
l engagement l recruitment l sustainability l gender equality l innovation. This is all while reducing the number of sickness absences. However, on the other hand, some felt this new working pattern wouldn’t suit all businesses and employees, and could lead to:
l potential burnout for workers l unsatisfied customers or clients l increased costs l unchanged levels of productivity. The verdict is in…
The world’s largest four-day week trial is said to have brought good news for the future of work. 4 Day Week Global, said: “Overall results show that almost every organisation will stick to a four-day week post-trial, with 91% definitely continuing or planning to continue, and a further 4% leaning towards continuing. Only 4% of participants are definitely not continuing. “Companies rated their overall experience of the trials an average of 8.5/10, with business productivity and business performance each scoring 7.5/10. Revenue rose by 35% over the trial periods when compared to similar periods from the previous year, and hiring increased while absenteeism decreased.
Gary Conroy, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of 5 Squirrels: “We will be keeping the four-day week as a permanent working policy as our productivity and profitability are significantly up and customer complaints are down due to less fatigue and more focus… Change the way you work then change when you work.” What did some of the UK participants think?
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2023 | Issue 90 32
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