Employees within the UK could quickly acquire the proper to request a four-day working week, a change that would 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 quick historical past
All through historical past—from historical Rome to the French Revolution and even the Han Dynasty—individuals have been given common day without work to relaxation, observe faith, or attend to non-public issues.
By the 1900s, the usual of sooner or later off for each ten labored developed into two days off every 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 grew to become the primary to implement a five-day working week, recognising the necessity for Jewish staff to look at the Sabbath.
All through historical past, work has tailored to fulfill 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 staff weren’t solely happier but additionally extra productive.
By 1940, the Honest Labor Requirements Act mandated a most 40-hour workweek, cementing the construction we all know right this moment.
100 years on, it feels prefer it’s time for one more quantum leap ahead.
It’s not for everybody – nevertheless it doesn’t should be
Critics of adjusting work buildings—whether or not by flexibility, compressed hours, or a shorter workweek—typically argue that such adjustments gained’t work for everybody.
However hasn’t that all the time been the case?
Not each worker enjoys the posh of a weekend off, the advantages of working solely throughout daytime or your complete summer season away from work.
The purpose is, flexibility ought to be about alternative, not mandate and this proposal from the federal government is simply that.
Shaping our personal moulds
Much like versatile working laws, the best to request compressed hours will enable people to tailor their work schedules to suit their distinctive existence. 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 nicely?
The purpose isn’t to drive everybody into the identical mould however to provide larger management over how work suits into their lives.
And this flexibility works. In a number of the most surprising locations, shorter workweeks are already making a outstanding influence.
Lots of the UK’s largest grocery store chains provide compressed hours, and whereas a number 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 right this moment’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% improve 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
Then again, retention is changing 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 state of affairs is dire, with 25% of workers saying they’re possible to go away their present roles inside the subsequent 12 months—a big rise from 16% in 2021.
But, the info reveals a transparent answer: Within the four-day week examine, 50% of employers reported decreased turnover, with the newest 2024 examine displaying turnover fell by an astonishing 39%. Much more promising, there was a 53% improve 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 virtually 4 million kilos yearly.
Change is coming, sooner 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 decreased burnout. The advantages of a four-day working week have gotten unimaginable 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 at the moment are 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, greater 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 revamped hundreds of years.
All through historical past, work has tailored to fulfill the altering wants of society, and right this moment’s office ought to be no exception.
The proof is obvious, the advantages are confirmed, and now’s the time to behave.
By giving workers the proper to request a four-day week, we aren’t simply providing extra flexibility. We’re displaying 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.
