Louis Bloomsfield, who plans to spend more time with his loved ones, says that “my first idea was to volunteer.
The 36-year old brewer exclaims, “There are so many other things you can do with an additional day,” while inspecting beer barrels. Pressure Drop, the north London brewery where he works will participate in the giant test that involves 3,000 employees from 60 companies. It is a four-day weekday job.
This trial is regarded as the most extensive in the world and aims to reduce the time companies work without slowing down or lowering their wages.
Similar trials were held in Spain, Iceland and the United States. They should begin in August in Australia and New Zealand.
Alex Soojung Kim Pang, program director of 4 Day Week Global which organises the trials, said that the six-month UK trial will allow companies to test and collect data. He says that SMEs can adapt more quickly and should make it easier to do so.
Pressure Drop is designed to increase employee well-being and reduce company’s carbon footprint.
The Royal Biological Society is also participating in the trial and says that it wants employees to have more autonomy. She hopes, like Pressure Drop, that a shorter work week will attract new employees and help retain the best in a tight labor market in the United Kingdom.
The unemployment rate, which is 3.7%, is the lowest it has been in nearly 50 years. Additionally, job vacancies are at an all-time high of 1.3 million.
Sam Smith, founder of Brewery, admits that staying closed for more than three days per week would be difficult. However, he said that ‘we need be open all the times’ and that this is what they’ll be looking at during their trial. Smith plans to offer different days off to employees, and to work in two shifts to ensure continuous operation.
In the service sector, which makes up 80% of the UK’s economy, a shorter work week is easier to implement.
Jonathan Boys, an economist with the Personal Development Institute, a group of human resource professionals, says that it is more complex for retail, food, and beverage.
He believes that the key to the success of the trial will be to measure productivity, particularly in a service economy, where much of the work can’t be quantified as well as the output of a factory.
“If you reduce your work hours from five to four days per week, you will lose one day of work and production. (…) Will an increase in productivity compensate for the day lost? (…) It will be difficult to keep the four-day work week going without losing growth.
Aidan Harper is co-author of a book promoting a four-day work week (The Case For a Four Day Week). He believes that countries that work less have higher productivity.
He explains that the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Sweden work less than the UK, but have high productivity. He also said that Greece has the lowest productivity and longest working hours in Europe.
Phil McParlane, the founder of 4dayweek.io recruitment company, believes that a shorter work week is a win-win situation for both employees and companies. McParlane even talks of a “superpower to hire”.
The firm’s recruiter, which specializes in flexible work and four-day-a week jobs, says that the number of companies who want to use its platform to hire has quadrupled over the past two-years. This is a reflection of the rise in hybrid working and the desire for a better quality life after the pandemic.
