The history of a 4-day working week and how we got started.

This is the second in a series of articles exploring the highs and lows of our journey toward a four-day working week. In this blog I will share with you the history of the four-day week, how we kicked the four-day week off in our business and the benefits of working with others who have already made a change.

The concept of a 4 Day working week has a storied history from across the world. As early as 1965, then US-president Richard Nixon called for a four-day working week to improve American families’ lives. Since then, the proposal has resurfaced in various guises. Trials took place in Iceland in 2015 with recorded ‘major well-being benefits', and in February 2018, New Zealand based trust company Perpetual Guardian announced that they would be moving to a 4-day working week with staff still receiving full pay. The trial saw increased productivity, customer engagement levels and staff engagement; reduced staff stress levels; and improved work–life balance. The company duly implemented the trial permanently and since then others have begun to follow suit, including my charity who are participating in a new pilot now being trialed in the United Kingdom.

Citizens Advice Gateshead, part of the national Citizens Advice network, is 1 of only 70 organisations to have joined the UK’s trial, and we’ve done that because we are keen to change and adopt new approaches after monitoring staff and client engagement throughout the pandemic. This led us to recognise that the current system is broken for our clients – it is too restrictive in many cases – and is no longer meeting the needs and aspirations of our staff and volunteers. The pilot and the support that comes from the experienced leaders and university research teams behind it, gives us a comfort and a framework from which to learn and adapt. Had we gone it alone I think it would have been a lonely, frightening and more difficult journey so my message is if you are thinking of this, look for companies who have already done it, find a mentor, connect with the national four day week campaign, and avoid going alone if you can, and you will find it will be an easier road.

The first thing you need to think about is that whilst the campaign to change the working week is labelled a “four day working week” this phrase covers several potential models and does not require your business to close one day a week. The phrase “four day working week” is a little misleading because within that there are businesses open seven days a week, working shifts, closing a day each week, or closing two half days, and some doing 4.5 days, it is fluid. The campaign for a different working pattern has got hold of the phrase “four day working week” because it is easy to understand, its a great marketing hook but underneath it there are nuances, and you need to work out what it is that you want from it before you begin.

For us, we have gone with trialing the 100-80-100 model. This means while employees benefit from an extra day off - the new way of working requires the team to maintain 100% productivity whilst working 80% of their hours, in return for 100% of their pay. In return the business is looking to extend its opening hours to include evening and week-end services. It may feel counter-intuitive to be open longer when you are shortening people’s working week, but in return for less time at work we are asking for greater flexibility from our team to better meet our clients’ needs. We have been clear about this from the start, and we have also been clear that if this does not work, we may trial something different, perhaps a 4.5 working week, as opposed to a 4-day working week. Thankfully, early signs are that we are maintaining performance in many areas of the business, so I do not think it will be necessary for us to change tack, but its important to understand where your lines are before you begin.

Around two hundred staff will be transitioning to the new model over the next few months, with the first three tranches already on the trial, comprising a range of personnel across the charity, representing a mix of client facing and support services. These teams include legal services, community advice, corporate services and our contact centre, that last one being the toughest area in which to achieve productivity gains.

Staff have the choice to opt into the programme, which the majority having chosen to do so. The implementation is charity wide, although a four-day week is not available to those who are in an induction period (as we need to benchmark their productivity first) or subject to formal performance or capability processes. In practice this means in different areas of the business there are differing levels of participation with some services participating with 100% of staff, and in other areas where staff turnover is higher, or where we have had fast growth and brought in lots of new people participation may be as low as 40% currently. This will of course change over time.

At this stage in the process there has been no change to contracts of employment, instead staff sign an ancillary agreement for a temporary period. During this time, we collaborate with the teams, from the bottom up – and this is important – to understand how the efficiencies and productivity gains can be achieved. The teams need to work this out themselves, all we are offering is a framework within which they can work, the detail of how it will be achieved is an entirely collaborative experience. For this reason, I would suggest it would be difficult for a business that thrives on hierarchy or micro management to make a success of the four-day week, it requires elevated levels of trust and a collaborative and innovative mindset to succeed.

Lessons learned in the getting started phase:

1.   It can be scary, you can plan forever, but eventually you must go over the hill.

2.   Its less scary if you can join a pilot or find a business that looks like yours who has already done it and is prepared to share with you.

3.   Before you start, think hard about what you are trying to achieve and where your red lines are, be transparent about this and be prepared to flex.

4.   You need to be clear what productivity looks like in your business before you shift over, how else will you know if your maintaining productivity?

5.   You do not need to amend contracts of employment straight away, a temporary agreement to understand if this works for you and what changes you may need to make in the future is the best way to go.

6.   Not everyone will be in straight away, some will be reluctant and watching from the side-lines and that’s ok, others will want to be in but will not be suitable and therefore you need to be clear about your criteria for participation.

7.   The solutions for efficiencies and productivity gains will come from your teams, trust them to do the right thing. All you need to provide is a framework, they will do the rest.

8.   If micro-managing is your thing, then the four-day week is unlikely to be for you.

9.   Oh, and one final thing, being busy is different from being productive.

You can read the first article in this series here.

To find out more information about the charity, our community interest company Society Matters and job opportunities visit https://citizensadvicegateshead.org.uk/