Foyne Jones discuss the rise of the 4-day week

Foyne Jones, leading executive recruitment agency specialising in the KBB, Builders Merchant & Home Interiors sectors respond to the rise of the 4-day week as Peter Jones, Founder & Managing Director offers his thoughts:

“For me personally, I am a fan of anything in business which is creative, different and in a position to let people develop a new perspective on life in the workplace and so the four-day week is something employers should be considering.

The latest surveys indicate that an employer’s ability to provide a family-friendly workplace and next-generation company culture like flexible working and access to childcare services, is critical to optimising employee wellbeing and greater business success. The recent lockdown measures have emphasised the number of people working flexible hours, which has increased five-fold in the last two decades and according to a recent report by Forbes, 70% of UK employees feel that flexible working makes a job more attractive to them compared to 30% who would prefer flexible working to a pay rise.

With 13 million parents in the UK employed and more than 1.5 million people in the UK now working from home, employers need to level the playing field and look at how they can support working families and not play into stereotypes that will ultimately be counterproductive. As a specialist in industries typically regarded as ‘male-dominated’, I have witnessed a sea change in recruitment, as employee engagement is now regarded as a fundamental concept in business, combined with unbiased equal opportunities.

Added to that, by 2030 nearly half of UK workers will be over 50 and so this sandwich generation are likely to welcome flexible working arrangements. Ultimately, your greatest asset is your relationship with your team and achieving results by empowering your staff is the best way to gain the right level of productivity and form a common purpose, which will facilitate mass collaboration and create feelings of community in the workplace.

I recognise this concept will be difficult to translate across traditional retail sectors however, it will inevitably become part of everyone’s future and so I believe companies should not shy away from new opportunities to support and work with their staff.

It is fair to say that employees are now of the mindset that if the same results can be achieved in fewer days, why keep a five-day workweek? This radical departure from the typical 48 hours per week is under greater consideration since COVID-19, however there needs to be employer benefits too and these are being realized through increased sales, lower overheads and improved employee retention, which will breed loyalty and more positive culture. By virtue, reports are showing that implementing more flexible working hours can also encourage lower sickness rates and a more equitable, transparent relationship between employee and employer.