Campaigners at the Workers Union are launching a new four-day working week trial with the aim of influencing the new Labour Government. Companies who are set to participate in the trial are due to begin the scheme in November 2024.
Trials have previously been conducted among various types of business with varying success. A four-day working week trial operated by South Cambridgeshire District Council highlighted the success of that initiative. The trial was launched in January 2023 but the then Tory Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issued a formal notice to the Council threatening litigation to precent the council operating a four-day week. This was reported by BBC News online.
The Cambridge study showed a decrease in staff turnover of 39% which led to a reduction in recruitment and savings of almost £400,000 in one year. There was also a 53% increase in the number of applications for roles advertised externally. Academics from Cambridge and Salford universities found that the 4 day week increased performance in 11 out of 24 areas, with improvements in motivation and health.
The Workers Union calls for Labour to support the campaign. Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign has stated that he believes a Labour government is likely to be more receptive than the previous Conservative administration. The findings of this new trial will be presented to the Government in Summer 2025.
The 4 Day Week Campaign website has information on the initiative and reports that 92% of companies who participated in their pilot programme decided to continue. The sample was small – only 61 organisations, and you would expect those companies to be open to continuing given that they signed up to the campaign. This statistic does not really tell the whole picture. The data on retention and revenue is likely to stand up to closer examination. The campaign reports a 71% decrease in burnout and 39% of staff feeling less stressed. This can only be a good thing. The website has a wealth of information and is worth a look.
There can be no denying that the workplace is changing rapidly. I credit this rapid progression down to the changes that began with the Covid lockdown. Employees got a taste of freedom around their daily work patterns including the ability to work from home which many employers might have been reluctant to champion. And who does not want to ensure that burnout is reduced and stress eliminated as far as possible, that is to say anything over a productive level of positive stress which is a good motivator.
For a number of years I have believed that it is a waste of time, money and energy bringing staff into an office every day of the week to do a desk-based job. Let’s remember many people do not have the luxury of home working at all when they are in client facing, retail roles, etc. Others do not have a dedicated space at home so it’s not for everyone. At didlaw we have had hybrid working for as long as I can remember. We were all able to switch seamlessly to full-time home working once the country locked down. We were ahead of the curve.
I know I enjoy not having to commute and having the privacy of a home-working space to get my head down. I’m immunosuppressed so not having to go on trains and tubes has hugely reduced my exposure to common colds and flus. As a leader I need privacy to have conversations with team members which I cannot do in an office with my co-workers.
In terms of serious legal work I have never flourished in open plan spaces. I need quiet and am unable to block out the background noise of my colleagues. Hybrid working removes a lot of the juggling for working parents too. It allows us to pop out for a doctor’s appointment or run an errand that cannot wait till the weekend. I can see good reasons to be in an office some of the time – we learn from osmosis and we get energy from other people’s energy. I think this is especially important at more junior levels and equally so in regulated environments such as a solicitors’ office.
We have always had people working less than full-time hours at didlaw and as MD I am open to this. It enables talented people to work who would not be able to have a career if they were forced to work full-time hours. This brings back talent to the workforce. It takes a lot of discipline to make home working work and it takes honesty. You get a lot more give from your people if you are flexible around things like time out of the working day to attend school meetings and events which are important to parents. There will always be those who abuse the privilege but they can be weeded out easily enough.
We are no longer in a master-servant relationship with our employees. They are people with their own lives and ambitions and who can fairly easily jump ship to go to an environment which is in sync with the pattern they need. In a work context it is the responsibility of leaders to give their people what they need to flourish. If that is a 4-day week or a home-based role then it is in everyone’s interests to see if it can work. The one thing that cannot be disputed and which is sometimes overlooked is that happy staff make happy workers who make clients happy. Everyone wins. And it’s enjoyable.
This blog was written by Karen Jackson, Solicitor and MD at didlaw.
