UK Bank Says Four-Day Week Is The 'Future of Working Life' (bloomberg.com) 66
Six months after switching to a four-day working week, the UK's Atom Bank said it's seen benefits from talent retention to improved productivity. From a report: There was a 49% increase in job applications at the bank in January 2022 compared to a year ago, while staff retention rates have also risen, according to a press release Wednesday. Days lost to sickness fell over the period and customer service ratings also improved. The Durham, England-based challenger bank is one of a number of UK companies exploring new working patterns to meet growing demand for flexible employment following the pandemic. While some have questioned the feasibility of a shorter working week, Atom Bank has no such qualms. "We firmly believe the four-day week is the future of working life," said Anne-Marie Lister, chief people officer at Atom Bank. "We hope Atom's experiences will encourage more businesses to make the shift permanently."
Link that doesn't require registration (Score:5, Informative)
If you don't want to register, you can read the story here [yahoo.com].
I love the four-day work-week (Score:5, Informative)
I'm a contractor and negotiated a four-day week at 80% of my normal weekly rates with the company I contract for.
Best decision ever. I'm near the end of my career and time plus quality of life is far more important to me than a few extra bucks. I'll probably stick with this company for as long as they'll have me until I hit retirement age because of the flexibility they offered me.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm a contractor and negotiated a four-day week at 80% of my normal weekly rates with the company I contract for.
Best decision ever. I'm near the end of my career and time plus quality of life is far more important to me than a few extra bucks. I'll probably stick with this company for as long as they'll have me until I hit retirement age because of the flexibility they offered me.
Yep. The people that have that choice tend to find that not having to commute, having all the comforts of home while you work (no substitute for your own kitchen and bathroom, after all), being able to dress down, etc, all more than make up for the cut in monetary compensation. Look at all the money you're saving on gas and eating out. If you live near a city where commute times are awful... I'm looking at you, Atlanta and Los Angeles... the sheer amount of extra sleep you get from not having to rise one to
Re: (Score:2)
What you are describing is work-from-home, the discussion is about a 4-day-workweek. They are not the same thing.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Having neared the end of my career, I have taken early retirement and am working part time (2 days a week). Now, I get almost the same amount of money as I get part of my pension and 40% of my previous pay. I also WFH once a fortnight. Full timers get it one day a week. I've been doing this for 6 months now.
It's nice.
So, is the pay cut accordingly? (Score:4, Insightful)
Do you still earn vacation time at the same rate?
Re:So, is the pay cut accordingly? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
They reduced the workweek by 3 hours, so not much of a difference.
In November 2021, Atom reduced employment contracts for its 430 staff from 37 to 34 hours with the same salary in a bid to improve employee productivity and wellbeing.
Re: (Score:2)
They probably came out ahead. They now have people wanting to work for them rather than the competitor, get away with paying them just as much, if that, and get the same productivity out of the people because after about 6-7 hours you start to lose concentration quickly.
A 8+ hour day works maybe for menial work, but if you're required to actually keep your brain active for that time, you're probably not going to be doing a good job during those last few hours.
Re: (Score:2)
A 8+ hour day works maybe for menial work, but if you're required to actually keep your brain active for that time, you're probably not going to be doing a good job during those last few hours.
I had a hard time with 10 hour days when we first switched to a 4 day work week. After a month, my body/mind had adjusted.
Re: (Score:3)
34/4 = 8.5 hours per day. A 4 x 8.5 workweek is significantly better than the 5 x 8 workweek in most places in the USA.
Some experimental results (Score:2)
Do they only pay you for 4 days now, or, do you get 5 days pay for only 4 days work?
Do you still earn vacation time at the same rate?
The book "Lost Focus" talks about this and describes some attempts to implement the 4-day week at some companies.
In the examples cited the company went to a 4-day week, with the understanding that the same amount of work would be done (and they had a good way to measure the volume of work they had been doing). The company did it on a trial basis with the understanding that if the employees couldn't figure out ways to get the same amount of work done in 4 days, they would go back to the original 5-day week.
L
Re: (Score:1)
Lots of inefficiencies were resolved, and it turned out that having the extra free day allowed the employees to get more rest and recuperation, which meant that they could work *harder* during their 4 day week without getting burned out as much.
im still skeptical that people find it easier working 2 hours more a day. i did 12 hour shifts and got 3 days off... if someone suggested 16 hour shifts and a week off, id have quit because its clearly worse on the employee
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, they still pay the same. From TFA:
The trial, organised by not-for-profit campaign group 4 Day Week Global, will reduce work hours by 20% with the same level of pay ...
Re: (Score:2)
The legal minimum requirement for annual leave is based on weeks and not days or hours, so it makes little difference if you're taking a weeks break from a five day week or a four day week. Shorter breaks will be dealt with pro-rata so a single day off from a 4 day standard week would use up 1/4 of a weeks allocation instead of 1/5 of a 5 day week.
Re: (Score:3)
it's not like anyone was paying us for 5 days of work to begin with.
But more seriously. The market forces will make it difficult for employers to do a 20% pay cut when they switch to 4-day work week. People's costs haven't dropped by 20%. What will likely occur is some benefits will be reduced and the rest the company will need to accept as the cost of doing business. If enough businesses do this you get a little bit of inflation and now your "full" paycheck is paid in inflated currency. But at least you go
Re: (Score:2)
It will be interesting to see how much power employers really have now. The UK is in a cost of living crisis, with inflation into double digits. Some employers are offering inflationary increases, and those that don't will probably find that they are having trouble retaining staff.
A 4 day week on full pay will become just another perk that people expect, and if employers don't offer it they will be at a disadvantage.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Do they only pay you for 4 days now, or, do you get 5 days pay for only 4 days work?
Do you still earn vacation time at the same rate?
How many people do you know get paid per day? Nearly every job I've ever heard of in the US is either annual salary (regardless of number of hours worked) or hourly wages (regardless of how many days those hours are spread across).
Is the UK different?
Re: (Score:2)
Well, that salary is based on 40 hour work week, and you usually "earn" your vacation time off based on that 40 hour week.
Seems like it depends on the job role? (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't see any problem with places deciding they're willing to hire people to work 4 days a week instead of 5. But claims like "this is the future of employment!" seem a bit ridiculous. Sounds like something any place could have implemented any time. Most settled on the 5 day, 40 hour work week as "full time employment" because that's what wound up most agreeable to the most people involved?
There's also, of course, the difference between jobs that still expect you to work 40 hours, but do it with 4 10 hour days vs 5 8 hour days, and those that are just paying you 80% of your former pay to work 20% less per week.
I would think the reduced hours are easier for a place to do that can easily hire more individuals for the job. If you need bank tellers, for example? You can probably hire enough people interested in to cover all of the hours you're open. If you need a specialist with a certain list of skills and experience, you might not be willing to go a day without support/coverage -- and it's not realistic to be able to hire a second person to do the work when you don't need 2 of them working overlapping hours and don't need one of them working a later shift.
Agreed (Score:2)
4 day weeks are probably fine for certain types of office jobs whereby most people are slacking anyway a lot of the time and can pick it up mon-thu if they have friday off. But in certain jobs you can't coast so are working 100% (or more, eg doctors) a lot of the time so there's no slack to use.
Re: (Score:2)
Not just in professional environments, either. Food production isn't even a 5 day a week job; it's 24/7. I imagine farmers, truck drivers, grocery store clerks are pretty amused at the "4 day work week" nonsense.
Re: Agreed (Score:2)
I can see it being an issue in jobs where there's a lot of cross-geo cooperation between small groups or individuals. I send a request, then I'm off the next day. If the other person is out that day, I still won't have a response when I return a day later.
Great idea though where it can be made to work. If I could, I'd happily do 10 hours days for three days off.
less dead time? (Score:2)
there can be Lots of inefficiencies in meetings that can be cut down.
inefficiencies in waiting for holds / signoffs / etc.
inefficiencies with tracking units done per hour or day vs per week
other ways that can help with less days per week.
Why not stay that added 30 min to get one task done vs pushing it to the next day and then needing to find other stuff to do to make filler.
Re:Seems like it depends on the job role? (Score:4, Insightful)
Y'know, they were probably saying the same thing when they moved from a six-day workweek to a five day workweek...
Or did you think that the five-day workweek was the way it's always been?
Re: (Score:2)
The fact that the 5 day week and the 2 day weekend has been around for so long probably suggests that it was the sweet spot for productivity vs time off for a very long time. Whether than applies in 2022 with modern working practices is another matter.
with automation coming the full time target needs (Score:3)
with automation coming the full time target needs to go down a bit.
Re: (Score:2)
So long? Let's see. We had the six-day workweek for a couple millenia, and the five-day workweek for rather less than a couple centuries (closer to ONE century than to two).
So, it's not a matter of "five days of work have been around for a looooong time", more like "five days is a damn short workweek"
Re: (Score:2)
Ok, a long time for when people had a choice over jobs where there wasn't just a single employer in town with no social support if you're made redundant or sacked.
Re: (Score:2)
The 5 day, 40 hour work week became standard less than 100 years ago in the US, maybe it was earlier in other parts of the world. My grandfather worked in a world where that was not standard. It is not set in stone. Just because something was around when you were born doesn't mean that its been around for "so long" that its a true institution and "because we have always done it this way" is never a reason to assume its the best way to do something.
It was also based on a time when it was assumed that only
Re: (Score:3)
Why is this fixation that people must work 40 hours a week? Or that offices must open 5 days a week? What's wrong with working 32 hours a week if work still got done? Many stores already close during one or two of the weekdays to stay open on Sat & Sun, why must an office be open for the full 5 days from Monday to Friday? For customer services, you should already have shifts to cover 7 days a week already, using 5-days shift or 4-days shift make little difference.
In the past, people work 6 days a we
Re: Seems like it depends on the job role? (Score:2)
I'm not a fan of setting x number of hours, but It depends on the work. I had a team, let's say each one had to produce ten widgets per day. They were a fairly mature team, so I told them I don't want to micromanage. I told them if they exceed their target, I won't have any issue if they head off early or work to their own schedule. Chatted with ones who hit the target and left, straightening that out. Publicly praised those who exceeded. Only one let me down. The rest exceeded our goals. I wouldn't have tr
Re: (Score:2)
Tradition. Apparently British factory owners started giving workers saturday afternoon off with the hope that the extra half day would get them sobered up by Monday morning. Some places with both Jewish and Christian populations just made both Saturday and Sunday rest days. Some with Muslims also added Friday for a four day week. Henry Ford made a big deal about shutting his factories down two days a week, and he had quite a cult of personality (still does), so that helped too.
Re: (Score:3)
Most settled on the 5 day, 40 hour work week as "full time employment" because that's what wound up most agreeable to the most people involved?
It took work stoppages and strikes to get a 5 day work week that we currently enjoy. I think it's time for another negotiation.
Re: (Score:2)
Most settled on the 5 day, 40 hour work week as "full time employment" because that's what wound up most agreeable to the most people involved?
It took work stoppages and strikes to get a 5 day work week that we currently enjoy. I think it's time for another negotiation.
That was done during an era of no global competition or threat of offshoring. Let me know how the strike goes this time. My bet is that your job ends up as contractor work at Apu's office in Bangalore. The problem with remote work is that if you can manage your server from Iowa, Aadesh can also manage them from New Delhi.
And as for local manual labor? There's a pool of men crossing the Rio Grande every day that's willing swing that hammer and move that shovel at a fraction of what you're demanding.
Re: (Score:2)
In the UK anything over 35 hours a week is considered full time, in the legal sense. Many places do 37.5 hours, with 40 becoming somewhat unusual for clerical jobs.
Friday afternoons off are fairly popular too.
5 days a week was just what the unions managed to get us back when it was 7 days a week in the factories. It's not based on any scientific determination of the most optimal working pattern. With the pandemic forcing work from home, companies and employees are starting to realize that they can maintain
This isn't a reduction of one day (Score:2)
It's a reduction in their workweek of 3 hours. So, hardly anything that large-scale conclusions can be inferred from.
From TFA:
In November 2021, Atom reduced employment contracts for its 430 staff from 37 to 34 hours with the same salary in a bid to improve employee productivity and wellbeing.
Re: (Score:2)
At least the same professional can do your dentistry and proctology in one visit.
Re: (Score:1)
What we really need is UBI so we do not depend on corporations for income
isnt UBI just switching the dependency?
Re: (Score:2)
isnt UBI just switching the dependency?
Yes. But all of mankind's greatest achievements have required collectivism, so this should not be considered an argument against it.
UBI probably won't work without general rent control, and removal of the social security contribution cap. But it replaces such a large number of programs, and solves so many problems, that it really seems like it's worth it despite the issues. It's so much more efficient that it can eliminate whole classes of fraud.
It's also going to require cracking down on tax fraud, specifi
71st Largest bank in the UK (Score:1)
This is just another, in a line of "OMG a company did a thing!" stories, that sought out any company that happened to be implementing a current cause celebre.
For the virtual workers, maybe (Score:2)
People doing actual work will keep working 6 days a week. You know, the people who are actually necessary for daily life, not the bureaucracy that nobody misses.
It Worked Well For A Friend (Score:2)
My friend worked a 9-80 job. His work was not unique to 1 person in the shop (government agency) so there was coverage for all hours that had to be covered.
His long work days were 9 hours and his short work day was 8 hours. Every other week he had a 3 day weekend on Fridays, in his case.
He never explained how that day off was chosen, but he liked it because he could schedule almost any type of personal appointment on that day as long as it was scheduled 2 weeks or more in advance; few businesses can handle
Not enough time during the week (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
But, but... (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
It's perfect for Atom Ant! ;)
Beyond the Article (Score:2)
What I think this short article misses are a lot of the questions that are being asked here.
The 4-day work week isn't 4 x 10, it's more like 4 x 9. The pay is the same as 40 hours.
It's not a "everyone is out of the office on Friday" schedule. Some people are out on Friday (lucky dogs), and some on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday. You still have, to the customer perspective, people in the office every day of the week.
Further research also reveals that this 4-day work week isn't for all employees, just m
Re: Beyond the Article (Score:3)
You still have, to the customer perspective
It's a British bank. The concept of customer service died decades ago.
Temporary advantage. (Score:2)
There was a 49% increase in job applications at the bank in January 2022 compared to a year ago, while staff retention rates have also risen,
Those effects only arise because all the other banks require 5 days of working. If every bank moves to a 4 day week then those advantages, from offering better employment terms and conditions, will disappear.
Mmmm (Score:2)
Zero day work-weeks is the future of banks,
The sky is falling! (Score:2)
Oh no, the world will end if we did away with a 40 hour week.
In reality what would happen if you made people work 32 hours a week but kept the same pay as 40 hours? Probably nothing.
Banker's hours (Score:2)
Banks have long been known for short work-weeks and work-days. It's not surprising that a bank would endorse a four-day work week.
Feels like heaven (Score:1)
I've been on a four day / 30h week since August 2021 and am really enjoying the experience... every weekend is a "long" weekend :)
The pay cut wasn't too bad, either, having paid off the mortgage a few years ago I happily traded some spare cash for extra quality time off.
All the best,
Uwe