Yahoo Finance Could a four-day working week become the new norm for British employees?
A four-day working week is achievable this century, the head of the Trades Union Congress has said.
Frances O'Grady used the TUC's 150th Congress on Monday to call for new technology, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, to pave the way for a shorter working week and higher pay.
She said: "In the nineteenth century, unions campaigned for an eight-hour day. In the twentieth century, we won the right to a two-day weekend and paid holidays. So, for the twenty-first century, let’s lift our ambition again.
"I believe that in this century we can win a four-day working week, with decent pay for everyone. It’s time to share the wealth from new technology. Not allow those at the top to grab it for themselves."
Full time workers in Britain put in some of the longest hours in the EU, behind only Austria and Greece. Some 1.4 million people now work a seven days a week in Britain, according to the TUC, and 3.3 million people work more than 45 hours a week.
With new technologies estimated to boost GDP by at least £200bn in the next decade, the TUC said the Government must act now to make sure workers share in these gains, by raising workers’ living standards and giving them more control at work.
There are a handful of companies in Britain already offering their staff the option to work four-day weeks. The Telegraph spoke to the founders of two of these firms about why they made the decision to change their working patterns.
'Presenteeism is good for nothing and nobody'
In June, Radioactive PR, an agency based in Gloucester, began a six-week test of a Monday to Thursday working week, with staff salaries staying the same.
Founder Rich Leigh said: "Technology was supposed to give us a better work-life balance. If anything, it’s made it worse. In a broader context, I think that getting rewarded for being good at your job has been replaced by a culture that celebrates being wedded to your job, above all else. Presenteeism is good for nothing and nobody.
"How do you get happy clients? Great work. How do you get great work? A happy team."
Mr Leigh made the decision to make the four-day week permanent earlier this month.
One of the caveats with the Radioactive's four-day week is that staff lunch hours have been reduced from one hour to 45 minutes, but Mr Leigh says he was very keen to avoid staff doing five days' worth of work in four, and that actually average working hours per employee had been reduced from 36 to 31 per week.
"From a staff perspective, the improvement in work/life balance has been amazing to see, and productivity has ultimately increased," he says.
'Time off work leads to more creative thinking'
Digital agency Lab, which works with clients to develop online strategies, introduced a four-day week for all 62 employees in its London and Cape Town offices in July as a way to boost creativity and productivity.
Take-up is optional and is dependent on employees managing their time well and being contactable on their day off. Staff will also have to continue working their 37.5 contracted hours, but over four days rather than five.
Lab's director Tom Head says: "The point of this is to ensure our staff use their three-day weekend to properly recharge and spend time doing what they love and to get some distance from work."
"With three days, people will come back more energised, with more ideas and more committed to what they do. Our creativity and ideas are the most valuable things we can offer our clients, so this experiment will hopefully result in more engaged people creating better work."
Would a four-day working week actually work?
Britons work an average of 37 hours a week, according to recent statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a little less than the 37.2 hours worked on average 10 years ago, and a one-hour-and-a-half improvement on the 38.4 hours worked on average 20 years ago.
But these figures don't include unpaid overtime, which, thanks to technological advancements enabling staff to check emails remotely, is estimated to be an extra 7.4 hours on average per person every week, according to the TUC.
The reality is that while some employers could introduce shorter working weeks, staff will effectively be made to squeeze five days' worth of work into four.
"While the idea of a four-day week might sound appealing, the reality is that it’s not necessary if you run your business effectively," says Lee Biggins, founder of job site CV-Library.
"If all businesses were to encourage a strong work-life balance, this would reduce the need for staff to take an extra day off for their personal lives. A four-day working week certainly sounds desirable, but it definitely isn't sustainable and will likely result in heightened stress levels for workers."
Dr Mark Batey, a senior lecturer in organisational psychology at Alliance Manchester Business School, says that while there are great upsides to flexible working for many organisations, there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to a four-day week, and what works for office employees wouldn't necessarily work for shop keepers, doctors or factory workers.
"In future, with the introduction of new technology, we will have many organisations that work successfully with remote working patterns, but it wouldn't be practical for the Government to jump in two feet first and introduce a blanket legislation that won't work for every industry", he said.
Productivity issues
Companies that change their working patterns say it is being done to focus on productivity and output, rather than the number of hours worked.
While productivity in the UK grew by 0.9pc and 0.7pc in the final two quarters of 2017, the strongest growth since 2011, the UK’s output per hour is still around a quarter behind competitors like France and Germany, meaning it takes British workers five days to produce what others achieve in four.
“The UK has a long way to go in order to catch up with our European neighbours,” says Tony Danker, chief executive of Be the Business, an industry-led organisation created to help close the UK’s productivity gap.
“With less than a year to go before we leave the EU, bosses must start now to make the most of the opportunities it presents and make Britain’s economy the most competitive in Europe.”
Three main issues are blamed for Britain's productivity problem: slow adoption of technology, shortages in investment, and a lack of the right management or technical skills in the labour market.
But Dr Batey added that the way we work also has an effect. "While companies making staff work five days a week might feel like they are getting the most out of them, actually they often end up just tired and overworked, and consequently less productive", he said.
Research published last year by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), suggests that working longer hours do not equate to being more productive.
Its report found that the average German works 1,363 hours annually, while French employees work an average 1,472 hours. By comparison, Britons work an average 1,676 hours per year.
Are companies free to offer what they like?
According to Alan Price, employment law director at Peninsula, employers in the UK are generally free to dictate the standard working hours of their employees.
Organisations are under no legal obligation to minimise the hours they expect their employees to work, and although the Working Time Regulations provide that working weeks should not exceed 48 hours on average, employees can choose to "opt out" of this if they want to.
Mr Price continued: "Despite this, the idea of offering shorter working weeks has experienced continued popularity in recent years, with many highlighting positive responses from workers and an increase in their productivity.
"Currently, managers are under no legal requirement to implement such a policy. In fact, the closest the law gets is the option of flexible working, which employees can request after working for the same employer for 26 weeks. It is important to note that this is not a guaranteed option, with the manager able to refuse it if they feel it could be detrimental to business operations."
He added: "Organisations who decide to implement [a shorter working week] should be careful not to breach any working time laws on rest periods and breaks, which instructs upon an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes when working for more than six hours and 11 consecutive hours away from work in each 24-hour period."
