Employees within the UK might quickly achieve the proper to request a four-day working week, a change that might sign a big step ahead in reshaping the way forward for work.
This potential shift, outlined by the Authorities, builds on an extended historical past of evolving office practices.
A short historical past
All through historical past—from historical Rome to the French Revolution and even the Han Dynasty—individuals have been given common day off to relaxation, follow faith, or attend to private issues.
By the 1900s, the usual of at some point off for each ten labored developed into two days off per week. This shift was pushed by companies that understood the worth of relaxation and leisure for his or her workers. Within the US, a cotton mill in New England turned the primary to implement a five-day working week, recognising the necessity for Jewish employees to watch the Sabbath.
All through historical past, work has tailored to satisfy the altering wants of society
By 1926, Henry Ford set a precedent by closing his factories for 2 days every week, discovering that well-rested employees weren’t solely happier but additionally extra productive.
By 1940, the Truthful Labor Requirements Act mandated a most 40-hour workweek, cementing the construction we all know immediately.
100 years on, it feels prefer it’s time for an additional quantum leap ahead.
It’s not for everybody – but it surely doesn’t should be
Critics of adjusting work buildings—whether or not by way of flexibility, compressed hours, or a shorter workweek—usually argue that such adjustments gained’t work for everybody.
However hasn’t that at all times been the case?
Not each worker enjoys the luxurious of a weekend off, the advantages of working solely throughout daylight or the whole summer season away from work.
The purpose is, flexibility ought to be about selection, not mandate and this proposal from the federal government is simply that.
Shaping our personal moulds
Just like versatile working laws, the correct to request compressed hours will enable people to tailor their work schedules to suit their distinctive life. We already give workers within the UK the authorized proper to request versatile working hours, so why not empower them to request a four-day week as effectively?
The goal isn’t to power everybody into the identical mould however to present higher management over how work suits into their lives.
And this flexibility works. In among the most surprising locations, shorter workweeks are already making a outstanding affect.
Lots of the UK’s largest grocery store chains provide compressed hours, and whereas a couple of trials have ended, their general success is notable.
For instance, compressed hours have made many workers financially higher off and improved their work-life steadiness. A 2022 four-day week pilot confirmed that 90% of collaborating organisations continued the coverage, with greater than half making it everlasting in 2024.
The case for change
Let’s pause for a second and replicate on why the office is in determined want of a daring transformation.
Two main challenges dominate immediately’s workforce:
- worker wellbeing
- retention
The price of poor worker well being is skyrocketing, with UK office illness prices rising by 30% in simply six years.
In 2024, British companies reported a staggering 55% enhance in sick depart. Nonetheless, the 2022 four-day working week trial revealed that 82% of employers noticed enhancements in employees wellbeing. Fewer hours meant much less stress, much less burnout, and a more healthy, happier workforce.
The necessity for change isn’t nearly enhancing productiveness—it’s about safeguarding the long-term well being of our workers and making a sustainable, thriving workforce.
The problem of retention
However, retention is turning into one of many best challenges for HR professionals and enterprise leaders alike. In 2024, half of HR professionals reported retention as their greatest subject, with three in ten workers leaving their jobs yearly.
The scenario is dire, with 25% of workers saying they’re probably to depart their present roles throughout the subsequent 12 months—a big rise from 16% in 2021.
But, the information exhibits a transparent resolution: Within the four-day week examine, 50% of employers reported lowered turnover, with the newest 2024 examine exhibiting turnover fell by an astonishing 39%. Much more promising, there was a 53% enhance in new candidates searching for to work for organisations providing this versatile mannequin.
The monetary advantages alone are compelling—think about a 30% discount in turnover saving the typical UK employer with 1,000 workers nearly 4 million kilos yearly.
Change is coming, quicker than we predict
4-day working week trials have already been carried out throughout six continents—within the USA, Eire, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Portugal, and the UK.
Throughout these research, the outcomes are clear: 42% fewer workers resigned, 63% discovered it simpler to draw expertise, and 64% reported lowered burnout. The advantages of a four-day working week have gotten unattainable to disregard.
We’re making a extra sustainable and humane method to work
Simply because it took 30 years for the two-day weekend to be totally embraced within the early twentieth century, we are actually standing on the cusp of one other monumental shift in how we take into consideration work.
Nearly each side of society has developed over the previous century, and our method to working hours ought to be no totally different.
The advantages—improved wellbeing, increased retention, and enhanced productiveness—are too vital to miss.
The way forward for work is about empowering individuals
As we put together to enter 2025, contemplating a four-day working week isn’t a radical thought—it’s a continuation of the progress we’ve remodeled 1000’s of years.
All through historical past, work has tailored to satisfy the altering wants of society, and immediately’s office ought to be no exception.
The proof is evident, the advantages are confirmed, and now could be the time to behave.
By giving workers the proper to request a four-day week, we aren’t simply providing extra flexibility. We’re exhibiting that we worth their well being, their time, and their contributions.
We’re making a extra sustainable and humane method to work—one which empowers people, strengthens companies, and builds a brighter future for all.
