The 4-day week podcast I mentioned above was recorded in October and features Charlotte Lockhart (co-founder and managing director at 4 day week global) and a bit of a case study from one of the pilot organisations, Charmaine Clavier St-John (Head of People at Hutch). 

https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/podcasts/four-day-week/

In reply to Steve Bridger:

Thanks for sharing this Steve, appreciate it. We were chatting yesterday in my community about this and I was laying a bet on how long it would take before the usual business dissenters would be out in force in the media dismissing it. It was a safe bet, they were pretty swift.

I'm sure it won't be going away though.

In reply to Steve Bridger:

Some interesting comment here from Peter Cheese, CEO.

CIPD responds to 4-day week pilot results

We are currently undergoing a 12 month trial for the Four Day Week. We started in July and are about to conduct a project review. So far it has been a huge success - but we need some metrics to back this up. Quite unusually for the Four Day week we are a manufacturing and engineering business and we all work a Four Day with our business being non-operational on a Friday. Some client facing roles do provide cover on as Friday but affected employees are on a Tuesday to Friday working week.

In reply to Tania:

Tania... this is exactly the experience I'd hoped we'd surface in this discussion. Please do share what you feel you can after the review!

The company I used to work for in Canada, we first started with a 4 day and half during the pandemic ( we used to actually run it during the summer only ). Anyway, as we started implementing a hybrid working model, we kept it and moved completely to a 4 day a week since most people weren't very productive Friday morning. We gave the option to choose the day instead of being fixed on Fridays. Although it was an overwhelming success, it had some drawbacks. Not everyone (25%) could actually afford to have a 4 day a week without falling behind on some non-negotiable deadlines. 4 day a week started looking very much like a 5 day a week after a while with more pressure which means some people actually were doing extra hours during the 4 day if they wanted to enjoy an extra day off.

In reply to Emilienne:

Really interesting case study thanks for sharing :)

In reply to Steve Bridger:

Curious to know what the CIPD's position is for their own employees. Have they considered the introduction of a 4D week for their staff and, if so, what were their conclusions?

We were 1 of the 61 employers lucky enough to participate in this trial. Based on the initial 6 months success we have extended our trial to 30th June 2023 so that we get a full 12 month picture (including all the peaks and troughs in work) to allow us to make an informed longer term decision.

Feedback from our colleagues has been positive particularly from those with caring responsibilities.

In reply to Ruth Llewellyn:

Any impact at all on productivity/profits, Ruth?

In reply to Robey:

We are a not for profit so for us it was all about maintaining performance and our services. Really encouraging results during the 6 month trial which gave us confidence to agree extension. We are just working on our success criteria for our second trial phase.

In reply to Robey:

Hi Robey ... well, I do have an update! Here at the CIPD we're preparing to undertake our own four-day week pilot and are finalising the details of this, with a view to sharing our findings later this year. 

So to answer your question - yes, considering and actioning!

We'll be happy to share more, of course... but a little further down the line as a few details are still TBC. You heard it here first.

In reply to Steve Bridger:

Excellent news, Steve. I think Peter made reasonable points about how the model will suit some businesses and not others and that we're a good way away from being able to confidently say that the 4-day week ought to be a default model. But there must be a risk that this position is used as an excuse by businesses to take a risk-averse position to the idea of a change of model. So hearing that the CIPD is prepared to proactively lead the way is very positive, regardless of the outcome.

Just some thoughts on the concept of a four day working week.

- if the length of the working day remains the same e.g. 7.5 hours then reducing from 5 days to 4 with no change in salary requires a 25% increase in productivity - tough ask. The UK is already close to the bottom of the productivity league - could the economy take it?

- if 5 day working hours are compressed into 4 then in theory no increase in productivity is required - although the perceived better work/life balance may lead to an expectation of increased productivity, the longer days may cancel that out.

- if the business model allows it then Mon-Thu would be ideal, if it doesn't then any 4 from 5 (or 7 for many industries, including mine) may work.- with compressed hours.

- It can work where the activities are not time bound - tough in for example a contact centre environment or where the activities coincide with fixed time events.

- 168 hours in a week, 112 waking hours assuming 8 hours a night sleep. If we based it on a 40 hour five day working week with an hour a day travelling then the balance is 45 hours work/67 hours life - so there is already a reasonably healthy balance but if the work allows it then moving away from a typical 8 hours continuous work to 'any 8 hours' could provide any needed flexibility. FWR for reduced hours (at proportionally reduced pay) can give greater flexibility without the hit on productivity/profitability.

In conclusion - am I against it in principle? No. But it does present huge, and in some instances insurmountable challenges. Also, for the record, I have spent my very long (I'm retiring this year) continuously working in 'for profit' private sector organisations and that will clearly influence my opinions through my lived experience.

In reply to Steve Bridger:

So the Govt has come out firmly against operating a 4-day week in local government - and by extension, the public sector.

"The government is being extremely clear that it does not support the adoption of the four-day working week within the local government sector. Local authorities that are considering adopting it should not do so. Those who have adopted it already should end this practice immediately."

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-10-26/hcws1099

Some data here in the response to the Govt from South Cambs DC

Government says four-day weeks should 'cease immediately' _ Local Government Chronicle (LGC).pdf

I'd be interested to hear of anyone in the sector currently experimenting with the working week.