These executives are asking their staff to work less for the same money. Will it pay off?

By Anna Cooban, CNN Business

It wasn’t hard for Samantha Losey, managing director of Unity, a public relations firm
in London, to convince her team to work fewer hours for the same paycheck.

But it was an uphill battle to persuade her own board to join the world’s biggest pilot of
the four-day work week. “I had to fight very hard for us to do this as a business…
nobody was willing. Everyone was very traditionalist,” Losey told CNN Business.

But after a “very difficult journey” to convince her board, and a rocky start, Losey said
her team has hit its stride. She said she is 80% sure everyone will keep the routine after
November, when the trial ends.

Unity is one of 70 companies in the United Kingdom participating in the trial. For six
months starting in June, more than 3,300 employees have worked 80% of their usual
hours — for the same rate of pay — in exchange for promising to deliver 100% of their
usual work.

The program is being run by the nonprofit organization 4 Day Week Global; Autonomy,
a think tank; and the 4 Day Week UK Campaign, in partnership with researchers from
Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College.

Already, the trial is bearing fruit for workers hungry for more free time.

Halfway into the pilot, 95% of companies surveyed by 4 Day Week Global say their
productivity levels have either stayed the same or improved, while 86% say they are
likely to make the routine permanent.

For Gary Conroy, founder and CEO of 5 Squirrels, a skincare product manufacturer on
England’s south coast with 13 full-time employees, the new work routine gets “better
and better all the time,” he told CNN Business.

Some of the benefits were unexpected.

“We’ve all lost a lot of weight…we were overweight before,” he said. “[The team has]
more time to prepare food, [eat] healthily. Lots of people are going to the gym a lot
more.”

Good for business?

Four months into the trial, Losey said her clients are happy with their performance,
while her team is much more inspired and creative. An internal study at the company
found that productivity was up 35% and staff said they were feeling healthier and
happier, compared to before the trial.

Now, people are scrambling to join the company.

“We were dying at the beginning of the year trying to find talent and we were spending
money on recruiters left, right and center,” she said.

But since Unity joined the program, Losey said she’s “never ever had so many
applications,”

While her board is still skeptical about the impact on the business output, Unity’s
clients are “desperate” for the experiment to pay off, she said — so they can convince
their bosses to adopt the routine in their own workplaces.

Juliet Schor, a professor of sociology at Boston College, told CNN Business’ Christine
Romans that the four-day work week provides “a major competitive advantage for firms
in the labor market.”

It also makes for happier and healthier employees , Schor said. That’s especially
important given the demands of the pandemic pushed many to simply burn out.

“Americans are finding that two days is not enough for the weekend. They can’t get all
of their errands and family care [done] and taking their kids to activities, and even just a
little bit of time for themselves, and preparing for the work week,” she said.

“The five-day week is just not working for people anymore,” Schor added.

Yet a four-day work week is no silver bullet.

In June, a Gallup survey of more than 12,000 workers in the United States found that
while those working a four-day week reported higher well-being — particularly among
those required to work on-site — there was no corresponding uptick in levels of
engagement in their jobs.

“Having higher engagement comes down to how you’re managed, and just giving
someone a four-day work week isn’t necessarily going to mean that you’re well
managed and that you’re engaged in your work,” Jim Harter, chief scientist of
workplace and well-being at Gallup, told CNN Business.

No Monday blues
For Losey, adjusting to the new routine was painful, however.

She described the first week as “Armageddon,” with too few colleagues available to
respond to a client emergency. “I just sat down on the kitchen floor and cried,” she said.

Slowly, the team has adapted, and introduced new habits that have made all the
difference. Now, internal meetings are capped to 15 minutes, and client meetings to 30
minutes. Emails to colleagues are not allowed to exceed more than a quarter of a day’s
total emails.

In particular, Losey’s staff swears by a “traffic light” system to reduce distractions in

the office. Colleagues have a light on their desk and set it to green if they are happy to
talk, amber if they are busy but available to speak, and red if they do not want to be
interrupted.
Losey said the risks to the business have been worth seeing through.

“After us having had several smooth weeks… it feels like ‘how would we go back?’
How did we work five days?’ It just seems so un-human,” she said.

“No one has Monday blues here,” she added.

The article discusses a pioneering pilot program in the United Kingdom, where 70
companies, including Unity, a London-based public relations firm, are testing a four-day
work week. Employees in this program work 80% of their usual hours while receiving the
same pay, with the condition that they maintain 100% of their usual productivity.

Samantha Losey, managing director of Unity, fought hard to convince her board to adopt this
new work structure, but it has proven successful. After a rocky start, her team improved
productivity by 35%, and staff reported feeling healthier and happier. This experiment has
attracted more job applicants and impressed clients.

According to a survey by 4 Day Week Global, 95% of the participating companies reported
that their productivity levels remained the same or increased, and 86% are considering
making the four-day work week permanent. Juliet Schor, a professor of sociology at Boston
College, suggests that this approach provides a competitive advantage for firms in the labor
market and leads to happier, healthier employees.

While the article highlights the potential benefits of a four-day work week, it also
acknowledges that it may not be a universal solution and that effective management is
crucial. Despite initial challenges, many companies are finding success in reducing working
hours and improving the well-being of their employees.

In my opinion, the four-day work week appears to be a promising concept that can benefit
both employees and businesses. It aligns with the evolving needs and preferences of the
modern workforce, providing a better work-life balance and increased job satisfaction.
However, its success may vary depending on the industry, company culture, and the nature of
the work itself. Careful implementation and management are essential to ensure that it truly
enhances productivity and employee well-being.