Redefining Work, Again: The 4 Day Week
What felt inconceivable, remote work prevailed after the pandemic shaped our daily lives. This has led to conversations around what other conventional work requirements are less-so required. First came remote work, now comes the four-day work week.
We asked over 30,000 people within our professional network and 97% said they were interested in a four day work week.
Whether you like it or not, agree or disagree, the truth is it is not going to go away. The good news is that smarter people than us did some research. The 4 Day Week looked into employee attraction and retention, inspected revenue implications, company healthcare costs, among other things. You can find their study results here.
How does a four day week work?
Companies have experimented with several different variations of a four-day work week. In all variations, keep in mind, they kept their salaries and pay structure the same. We see the majority of industries that participate in this within Administrative, IT, Telecom, and Aerospace. Lockheed Martin, for example, offers 75 hours over 8 days. Most companies offered 40 hours over 4 days or a more popular 32 hours over 4 days. 25% of the companies in the study had a “no same day off” policy.
Our poll found that while 30% would be happy with any variation of a 4 day work week, 40% preferred the 32 hours over 4 days versus the 27% that would prefer 40 hours over 4 days.
What about performance?
The trial tracked revenue, productivity, and overall company performance. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being positive impact), the trial participants rated the company’s overall performance 7.6 and productivity to be 7.7. And when asked about individual performance and how they would rate themselves, “People felt that they were more productive and doing a better job at work with the shift to a four day week”.
More impressive was company revenue. “On average company revenues increased more than a percentage point a month during the trial.”
Can it help retain talent?
The US trial took place during the Great Resignation and the churn rates show no change before the trial and during. So, while the market was showing workers quitting their jobs at record rates, at the four day week companies there was no change in the likelihood that an employee would resign.
And while retaining talent is great, our survey shows that 97% of people would be interested in this benefit. That speaks to itself when it comes to using the 4 day week to attract top talent.
Are there other benefits?
The study shows health care costs lowered. When employees take time for leisure, self care, and hobbies which can directly affect health and wellbeing. Childcare costs went down. And volunteerism went up.
What are employees doing with their extra time?
Employees now spend .15 more hours on volunteering and .41 more hours on hobbies. They spent 5 hours of their extra day on leisure, followed by 3.5 hours of house and care work, and 2.6 hours on personal maintenance.
What now?
Of the companies that participated in the study, 96% of them are going to continue the four day week. And if you’re interested in it, check out the study and see if a similar trial would work for your company. Set parameters up front around headcount, revenue, and productivity and see how it could work for you.
eHire has worked with many unique companies that love to provide better ways to work for their employees. If you’re interested in learning more about relevant hiring trends, reach out to us and we can share our experience.