Could A Four-Day Working Week Work For Your Company?

With a new trial to test the four-day working week in Ireland underway, many small businesses are worried about what the potential change could mean for them. We look at small businesses who are already reaping the rewards of a shorter working week.

A new trial programme to test out the benefits and effectiveness of a four-day working week was launched in Ireland last month. Driven by the Four Day Week Ireland campaign, it’s claimed a four-day working week can offer a better work/life balance for employees and improve productivity for businesses. No loss of pay will be experienced by employees involved in the scheme. Here, we look at some small businesses who have already trailed the four-day week with surprising results.

Staff work smarter, not longer

UK-based Target Publishing were forced into a four-day working week by the first coronavirus lockdown. Amid a slump in ad sales, he cut the pay of his 30 staff by 20%. However, when sales picked by up Founder David Cann kept the four-day week and reinstated everyone on full pay – with surprising results.

“I felt better in myself that I was able to give something back to match the sacrifice everyone had made,” Cann told The Guardian.

“Of course, there were teething problems, but we found meetings were much shorter and we looked at the way staff worked and what they did much more closely to achieve significant efficiencies.”

“And from a mental health point of view, we see huge benefits and because everyone wants it to work, you get an upside in higher profits.”

Staff produce better work in less time

One company pioneering the idea of a four-day week is estate planning firm Perpetual Guardian, whose 250 staff have been on a four-day week on full pay since 2019.

Perpetual Guardian’s founder, Andrew Barnes, said: “For us this is about our company getting improved productivity from greater workplace efficiencies … there’s no downside for us,” he said.

It could make your workplace fit for the 21st-century

With global giants like Unilever following suit (the consumer giant are moving staff in its New Zealand office to a four-day week on the same pay) the endorsements for flexible working are mounting. For campaigners, it’s a vital change needed to boost both our health and the economy.

Economist Aidan Harper, co-author of a new book, The Case for a Four-Day Week, argues that productivity has been stagnant since the 2008 financial crash and believes the pandemic is forcing companies to consider a shift to shorter working hours.

If you are considering changing your employees hours, contract or the way they get paid, Small Business Payroll can help.