The four-day week – a flex too far?

But where does the four-day week fit in? The key issue lies in understanding what this actually means. In its current format, it’s actually just compressed hours, which involves cramming a five-day working week into four days, this isn’t a true four-day week —it’s just a reallocation of the same problem. It doesn’t reduce the workload; it just shifts the burden around. In fact, compressed hours often exacerbate stress because employees are still expected to deliver the same output in less time.  

Earlier this year, I conducted a series of polls on Linked in and more than 800 people voted in all of them. The polls revealed that when working from home, most people didn’t take a full lunch break, they continued to work when ill, they worked later and also started earlier; how does this equate to work/life balance? Are we more productive WFH or just working longer hours?

If you’re asking someone to complete 10 tasks in five days, and now you are expecting the same 10 tasks in four days, where’s the gain? Either they weren’t busy enough before, or now they’re working under such added pressure they’re going to crack. Compressed hours simply repackage the 40-hour week, and in an industry like ours, that doesn’t solve the problem. 

A true four-day week should mean a reduction in workload—doing 80 per cent of the previous work for 100 per cent of the pay. But how many businesses are willing or able to make that shift? It would mean either lowering expectations or hiring more people to pick up the slack. That’s where the system starts to fall apart, particularly for smaller companies that don’t have the headcount or resources to spread the workload across more employees. 

The real solution might lie somewhere between flexible and hybrid working. If compressed hours are the route companies choose, flexibility must be part of the equation. Commuting is a massive time drain, so the ability to work from home or from wherever you’re most productive becomes essential. For many, the idea of clocking in 10-hour days at the office is impractical if you're also then spending hours on the commute.   

Also, I’d like to throw this into the mix: should flexibility extend beyond the traditional Monday-to-Friday schedule? For some people, working on weekends might be preferable. People without children or empty nesters, for instance, might appreciate the option to spread their hours across non-traditional working days to take advantage of a few hours in the week when shops and recreational activities aren’t so busy. If we’re talking about truly flexible working, why not offer people the chance to work Wednesday to Saturday, or even swap a weekday off for a weekend shift?