Can a four day week replace a pay rise?

As we know, workload is the most significant cause of stress and mental challenges people face in the workspace. Therefore my questions would be: "Is there going to be a reduced workload?" and "How are we making sure that people are not being contacted outside of those four days?" Studies have shown that a four-day week can increase people's focus and concentration. I think most people would take Monday or Friday off as the preferred day, whereas in professional sports, normally the middle of the week is the preferred day off to support recovery. Four days a week can work but, as always, people need support.

Money for nothing and a day for free! As a business built on flexible working, we welcome any moves to change the traditional working week, especially if it helps working families and carers. However, the driver here seems to be businesses wanting to cut costs and that carries the risk that they will try to get five days' work out of four days' employment! It also fails to address the fundamental problem workers are facing at the moment, and that is the fact that wages are not keeping up with inflation, meaning many families are struggling to pay their bills. This will only get harder next year and will not be solved by an extra day off. Instead, as a country, we should be looking at how to increase flexible working patterns to enable more people to work additional hours or just to work, such as those excluded from the workforce due to child and other care costs. This will increase worker well being, but also the pool of available labour.

With over 20 years in HR, I've seen new trends come and go, some stay, and others fall by the wayside; controversially, the four-day working week is the new fad and is seen as the 'trendy' thing to offer employees, my biggest concern with the four-day working week is the sustainability of it, where do we go after four-day weeks when people run out of steam trying to cram five days into four, and what comes next? We are already on a cliff edge in terms of employee well being, and I'd predict within a few years this will only increase as a result of four-day weeks. Companies should be encouraged to look internally at their own business challenges around people and find solutions that suit them and not feel that they should follow the crowd, one size does not fit all.

“Post-pandemic flexibility is highly valued and expected in the workplace. That said, working less days for the same pay won’t replace prescribed pay rises. There may be an extra day off in the week, but workers still need to pay for things such as gas and electric. Employers can’t turn a blind eye to the cost of living. Management must consider the long-term effects of workers increasing their output over fewer days. This may be a change in pace that, over time, could lead to exhaustion over efficiency.”