Four day weeks, nine day fortnights, flexible working - topics which have regularly dominated the news in recent years and hailed as the utopia of the modern workplace, but what's the science behind them?
Over 60 local businesses made their way to Brighton Chamber’s event ‘The science behind the four day week,’ to find out. The event was held on 26 October in collaboration with the University of Sussex and hosted by Brighton Girls School.
Introduced by Kerry Watkins, Managing Director of Social for Good and chaired by Dr Charlotte Rae, Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex, the scene was set for a fascinating evening and Dr Rae introduced business leaders to the initial findings of her trial to measure the biological and psychological benefits (spoiler - there are many!) of reduced working hours alongside business performance. The Sussex 4 day week is the only study specifically looking at the biological component.
The trial is the first of its kind
Over the summer, six Brighton businesses, including Cloud9 Insight, Social Firefly, St John’s College and Brilliant Noise undertook a series of assessments, ranging from in-depth questionnaires to in-person biological tests such as MRI scans and blood tests.
The trial lasted for three months, with employees receiving 100% of their wage for working 80% of their normal work hours.
During the event, Dr Rae set out her findings which included:
- Improvement in mood
- Reduction in burnout
- Employees feeling more able to ‘switch off’ after hours
- Increase in enthusiasm and motivation for work
- Increase of 10% in self-rated productivity
She stressed that these benefits were immediate upon starting the trial and continued throughout.
In short, extra time for rest –including sleep, hobbies, relaxing and time with families –meant employees were happier and better rested. This enabled them to maximise brain function in the days they were working.
The highs and lows of taking part
Pilot it first
We also got the chance to hear from four of the businesses taking part in the trial. We heard why they got involved, the benefits, the challenges and if they think the four day week is the future.
Carlene Jackson, CEO at Cloud9 Insight trialed a nine day fortnight. She decided to take part after a survey of her employees showed that 60% said they wanted a four day week.
Cloud9’s employees tested having a Friday off once a fortnight and spent the other Friday on strategy and learning within the organisation. This gets employees away from their day to day work and benefits the development of the business.
She stressed it looked good for recruitment but not necessarily for retention - she felt that clear career paths, paying well and great management were bigger contributors for keeping staff.
Her advice to anyone thinking about it, was to pilot the scheme before introducing anything concrete. Productivity should remain at front of mind, such as ensuring employees only attend meetings that are necessary and block out time to work on projects. She added that we should embrace automation and that anything that can be done to reduce burnout is a good thing.
A greater respect for staff
Other businesses involved tested the four day week format. James Armstrong, Director of Social Firefly highlighted the team’s wellbeing while maintaining output was at the forefront of his mind. He stated that an unexpected bonus was that people respected each other’s time more and there seemed to be greater focus.
He did say there was some initial pushback from a client, but in time they grew to realise the service they were receiving would remain the same. Overall, he felt that taking part shows trust in colleagues and that can only be a good thing, right?
Consider the costs
Christina, Registered Care Manager from St John’s College got involved in the pilot to improve recruitment and retention in an already squeezed sector - social care. She said it was particularly useful for those in emotionally demanding roles who reported feeling happier and more patient. As such, they were able to deliver a higher quality of care.
She noted there were more challenging aspects to the trial. If they were to continue, fees would need to be increased to cover additional costs of having to take on staff to cover the additional day. Despite this, she felt it is the way forward, with the benefits greatly outweighing the negatives.
A more human approach to work
Antony Mayfield, Founding Partner and CEO at Brilliant Noise said he simply wanted to build a better place to work when he agreed to take part. He said the shorter week was useful in flushing out ineffective systems and creating a better talent offer. He found it made team members more disciplined and focused. He felt a four day week was the more humane thing to do - to allow time for people to be people.
The effect on business performance
Now onto the biggie - how was performance affected? Business performance metrics have further shown productivity was either maintained or improved, with five of the six companies involved now intending to make the four-day work week permanent. That sounds like a pretty resounding success.
Is a four day week the future?
The four day week is not itself a silver bullet but when accompanied with other benefits, such as flexibility and healthy wage packet, it bolsters employers’ offerings, staff happiness, motivation and the businesses bottom line too.
And that’s the thing - it’s seen as a benefit. How long before it’s the social norm? Of course, it’s an unknown but as we all know, society is changing rapidly and based on this evidence, we’d imagine it won’t be too long.
Inspired to take the plunge?
The Sussex team are continuing to enrol employers into the project. Anyone who would like to trial a four day week in their workplace is encouraged to take a look at the project website, www.sussex4dayweek.co.uk, and contact Dr Charlotte Rae on c.rae@sussex.ac.uk.
The team can advise on implementing a four day week, and help employers to monitor and measure progress and improvements, both in workplace performance, and in staff wellbeing.
This event was run as part of the 20 years of the Economic and Social Research Council’s flagship of Festival of Social Science.
Mel Berry is Director of social media agency, Social Firefly. Find out more on their website.
With thanks to Stuart Robinson, University of Sussex, for event photography.
If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk