Could A 4 Day Work Week Be Coming To Your Workplace?

Four day work weeks have long been hailed as the future of work. But are we ready for such a monumental change in our working patterns and schedules? 

Earlier this month, 4 Day Week Global released its 2023 report, the contents of which have created quite a bit of debate across the fintech industries.

The report in question details findings of the world’s largest four-day working week trial to date, comprising 61 companies and around 2,900 workers, which took place in the UK from June to December 2022.

Top companies participating

The trial included top London-based companies from diverse sectors such as Adzooma, Furness Insurance Services, Kingston First, Hutch, and Happy. 

Overall, the pilot was a resounding success. Of the 61 companies that participated, 56 are continuing with the four day week (92%), with 18 confirming the policy is a permanent change.

Arguably, the most important outcome of the trial was the benefit it had on employees’ wellbeing and overall health. Before and after data shows that 39% of employees were less stressed, and 71% had experienced reduced levels of burnout by the end of the trial. 

Better outcomes

Of course, work-life balance was also greatly improved among participants. Fifty-four percent found it easier to balance work with household jobs––and employees were also more satisfied with their household finances, relationships, and how their time was being managed. 

While the benefits for workers are great (if not predictable), the gains for the companies involved are also interesting. Revenue stayed broadly the same for all over the trial period, rising by 1.4% on average. Employee retention was also greatly improved. The number of staff leaving dropped by a staggering 57% too. 

While this trial was completed on a relatively small scale, it is an important starting point. Companies that are considering moving to a four day work week now have access to a growing base of organisations that are doing it successfully. 

And it will be a process of trial and error. In the study, companies implemented different schedules that suited their employees. While some took the same day off every week (e.g. Mondays or Fridays), others staggered work weeks between teams. 

Going forward, eager companies will need to be wary of staffing requirements, customer support solutions, and potential employee burnout from doing the same amount of work in less time. However, when weighed against the reported benefits, there is clearly one winner in this debate. 

If you’re in the market for a new job now, discover three interesting roles below, as well as thousands more on the City A.M. Job Board.

Data Engineer, Cleo, London

Cleo is the money app that’s helped over five million people budget better, build credit, and escape their overdraft. The team is hiring a Data Engineer who will develop and maintain Cleo’s data and machine learning infrastructure to support the company’s scalability requirements. You will also work on driving improvements to Cleo’s data platform and data engineering stack to accommodate growth and provide the best service to users. You will need three years’ of software engineering experience with a focus on data, experience with data warehousing solutions such as Snowflake, Redshift, or similar, and a history of working in a scaling, product-based environment. Read the whole job spec here.

Director of Engineering, Citymapper, Remote

Well-known, London-based app Citymapper is currently looking for a Director of Engineering for the backend as well as transport data departments. You’ll need to be able to lead, and not just manage a team. Responsible for the mentoring and development of team members while ensuring that the team sticks to best practices while delivering key objectives for the quarter is key. To apply you’ll need demonstrable experience leading a product-focused team, working directly with product managers. Knowledge of Python 3, AWS Lambda, EC2, and RDS, and an ability to get stuck in are also essential. You can work from City Mappers headquarters in Shoreditch, or from home, within the UK, or a bit of both. Get more information here. 

Lead Data Scientist, Lendable, London

Lendable is a lending platform with a difference. The company is also one of the UK’s newest unicorns with a team of over 200 people. The new Lead Data Scientist will be a key hire for further growth. You will work across the business in a multidisciplinary capacity to identify issues, translate business problems into data questions, and analyse and propose solutions. Key skills include excellent communication, experience with Python, Jupyter, Pandas, and Numpy, and knowledge of machine learning techniques. Find out more here. 

Apply for all of these jobs and many more on the City A.M. Job Board today