Ep. 046 - Skiving or Thriving: The 4 Day Work Week
The 6 month trial of the 4 day working week is finally over in the UK, and stats are emerging, but what could a 4 day week really mean in your business?
Whether you’re an employer or an employee can bring different perspectives on a workplace idea that might’ve been unthinkable in decades past.
That’s why Gary and George are here to bring you the bottom line on the trial, the nuances it’s yet to capture, and whether it’s really possible for your own company…
Key takeaways from this episode:
The 4 day work week trial showed improvements in revenue, staff turnover, and sick days among other benefits
With fewer days comes the need for reduced waste, efficiency is key
Consider who should choose which days are off
Gary Gamp: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garygamp
George Clode: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeclode
Highlights:
“Apart from money once you go to work? I think the pandemic’s got us to look at life a little bit differently, it’s been a bit of a catalyst.” - 2:10 - Gary Gamp
“The revenue never declined in any country that trialled the 4 day week, so from a company point of view, that was good. But the biggest benefit seemed to be around employee engagement. ” - 6:40 - Gary Gamp
“If you want to do things differently, it forces you to plan better. Can you have less waste, and focus on what’s important?” - 9:30 - Gary Gamp
“Most people who have done this said it's tricky. You need to get used to it, and you have to be flexible, and it's not clean.” - 11:50 - Gary Gamp
“Would prospective teachers be put off, thinking ‘Actually, I'm not gonna become a teacher, because I quite like this idea of doing a four day week’?” - 16:40 - George Clode
“In one of the big surveys that was done, they looked at the threshold for taking a pay cut, and the majority of people would take a slight pay cut to get the time off. ” - 21:05 - Gary Gamp
“There’s some data to look at around the 4 day work week - is 6 months of data enough? Possibly not.” - 24:00 - Gary Gamp
