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Any SMEs trialling a 4 day week?

Emily

We are a small (85 people) international renewables consultancy and are investigating trialling the 4 day week. I've read the threads on the forum, which were helpful but was wondering whether anyone had any experience of implementing in a similar industry (professional services) and wanted to share lessons learned /collaborate with me?

My main questions are:

  • How does it work in a business who 'sells it's time'
  • Impact on shareholders/profit share which is split equally between all partners
  • How much admin time is involved in the move
  • Is targeting 25% more productivity over days without negatively impacting wellbeing achievable. Some offices already work long hours (through choice) our model allows teams to decline work if there is a negative impact on wellbeing - will this get worse

The more I write the less confident I am that the pro's outweigh the cons but may just be cynical old me!

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  • None of my clients have gone down the four day work route so I, sadly, can't help with the practical implementation. I am sure you are considering the rationale for considering the change, the purpose and how it aligns with the business and it's culture.

    I personally have a lot of professional services experience and I find many quite risk averse and a little nervous about being ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation and flexible working. That might be unkind and unfair, I often find them fixed on billing by time andless able despite a lot of talking about it to shift to value billing which would probably help when you are working less time for the same level of pay.

    I know there's been research on it, forgive me if you are all over it - www.4dayweek.co.uk/research - and it doesn't suit everyone. It can be done without impacting well being because it's not about cramming five days of work into four- but it does require a lot of commitment to iron out the practical implications and needs a 'learn and iterate as we go' mentality. If the partners don't back it and really believe it's a good thing worth investing in, then you might have your answer as to whether it will truly work in your business.

    Good luck whatever you choose. It's fascinating and I'm curious to know what impact it will have on the workplace of the future. I'm especially curious when you see government putting pressure on councils to cancel 4-day week pilots...interesting times.
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  • None of my clients have gone down the four day work route so I, sadly, can't help with the practical implementation. I am sure you are considering the rationale for considering the change, the purpose and how it aligns with the business and it's culture.

    I personally have a lot of professional services experience and I find many quite risk averse and a little nervous about being ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation and flexible working. That might be unkind and unfair, I often find them fixed on billing by time andless able despite a lot of talking about it to shift to value billing which would probably help when you are working less time for the same level of pay.

    I know there's been research on it, forgive me if you are all over it - www.4dayweek.co.uk/research - and it doesn't suit everyone. It can be done without impacting well being because it's not about cramming five days of work into four- but it does require a lot of commitment to iron out the practical implications and needs a 'learn and iterate as we go' mentality. If the partners don't back it and really believe it's a good thing worth investing in, then you might have your answer as to whether it will truly work in your business.

    Good luck whatever you choose. It's fascinating and I'm curious to know what impact it will have on the workplace of the future. I'm especially curious when you see government putting pressure on councils to cancel 4-day week pilots...interesting times.
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