Is the four-day working week fit for purpose?

With the concept of a four-day working week gaining traction, three members of Chartered Accountants Ireland give us their take on the potential pros and cons of working fewer hours as standard in the future

Kerri O’Connell
Principal 
Obvio Tax Services

The four-day work week is an idea whose time has come!

We are all aware that we are living through an era of great societal change, with many people questioning their lifestyle, their desire to buy more ‘stuff’ and the impact all of this has on the natural world around us. 

The arrival of more advanced Artificial Intelligence is also likely to have a huge impact on our working lives.

From a business perspective, many sectors are struggling to recruit and retain staff. The pressure is on in many aspects of the service industry, including professional, medical, construction and hospitality, and we are all aware of shortages of certain foods, medicines, etc.

An economic ‘growth at all costs’ model, and accelerating expectations of ‘always available’ goods and services, create pressures that are doing none of us any good. Neither is a working week model that requires people to work on all of the days during which the services they require are accessible.

Consider that the five-day working week (itself only 100 years old) was a sea change from the previously standard six-day week and, at the time, regarded as a great upheaval. That change bedded in over time, just as a four-day working week will too.

The opportunity for parents to spend more time with children, for people to have more time available for caring obligations, or volunteer for a social/charitable organisation, is not just a ‘nice to have’ – it would bring fundamental benefits to our society and our environment.

Many of us feel very resistant to change and only make a change when we are forced or pressurised to do so. If the past three years have taught us anything, however, it is that we are all more adaptable than we think.

Shaun McGlade
Managing Director
SMCG Ltd.

There has recently been a major shift in the perception of a four-day working week, which is now starting to gain real traction as an exciting workplace policy. 
 
At its core, the paradox of shortening working hours for no less pay is in stark contrast to the dominant burnout culture of past decades, where working more was viewed as working better.

Pilot schemes trialling the effectiveness of the four-day working week have yielded positive results. The largest to date was carried out last year in the UK by 4 Day Week Global, in partnership with Autonomy, an independent research organisation, the University of Cambridge and Boston College.

Sixty-one companies employing 2,900 people took part in the UK’s Four-Day Week Pilot between June and December 2022. More than 92 percent opted to continue with a four-day working week after the six-month study concluded.

With many people having adapted to flexible working following the pandemic, and a greater focus on work-life balance, there is a growing need for businesses to think differently about how they operate. A four-day working week could give some a competitive edge in the war for talent. 

One of the most interesting findings of The UK’s Four-Day Week Pilot was that, among the 61 participating companies, revenue remained broadly the same over the course of the six-month trial, rising by 1.4 percent on average, weighted by company size. 

When compared with a similar period from previous years, participants reported an average 35 percent revenue rise.

So, while some employers are sceptical about the potential benefits of a four-day working week, my view is that it holds numerous potential benefits.

These benefits range from a competitive edge for employers in the employment market, to higher staff retention, improved well-being, lower absenteeism, less burnout and reduced childcare costs for employees.

Teresa Campbell
Partner
FPM 

Around the world, interest in the potential benefits of a four-day working week is on the rise as employers and employees look for ways to improve well-being, enhance organisational performance and reduce the adverse impact of working life on society and the environment. 

It is these positive outcomes that could make the four-day work week popular among employers in the future, so I think it is likely that we will see it become increasingly common – including in SMEs and accountancy practices – provided it is introduced in ways that do not adversely affect customer/client service.

 In our own organisation, all of our team are actively encouraged to think about how we structure each working day. 

We want our people to enjoy a healthy work-life balance, develop their careers and contribute to society in a meaningful way. We support flexible working and have measures in place to ensure that this does not disrupt our client services. 

We are largely laptop-led, with a ‘work anywhere, anytime’ culture. We hold monthly virtual team gatherings and have developed and implemented a hybrid and flexible working policy, which piloted a four-day working week. More than 10 percent of our team avail of this option and our people say that the flexibility has changed their quality of life. 

This is in addition to the over 22 percent who are working part-time, with the remainder either finishing at 1pm on a Friday or working the standard working week.   

 Our strategy has enabled some team members to continue to work while travelling internationally, and has also facilitated higher levels of female participation in our leadership teams.  

 One of the main factors for the success of our flexible working policies is that they enhance job satisfaction and encourage autonomy. Our experience is that team members both appreciate flexible working and are themselves very willing to be flexible, stepping up where necessary to meet urgent client demands. 

Overall, it is a two-way process with everyone committed to enhancing, rather than diluting, our clients’ experience.