How Could a 4-Day Work Week Affect Your Office? - DENTON

Exploring the ups and downs of a 4-day work week in the UK

Benefits of a 4-day working week

Let’s be honest, a 3-day weekend sounds amazing, but exactly what advantages can this bring to employees and employers? With the recent UK trial at an end, reports have been released detailing the findings, with companies raving about the various benefits. Here’s what you could bring to your business by implementing a 4-day work week:

Improved Employee Wellbeing

Most trial companies’ employees reported reduced stress levels and overall improvement in their mental health. Anxiety, fatigue, sleep issues, and burnout were also reported to have dropped significantly.

Healthier Work-life Balance

With an extra day off each week, employees may have more time to pursue their hobbies, spend time with their families, or simply relax, which can have a positive impact on mental health.

Reduced Sickness

With the clear benefits to wellbeing and health, it’s no wonder there was a 65% reduction in sick days taken during the trial and a drop in those who are actively quiet quitting.

Increased Productivity

The results have shown that employees can maintain or even increase their level of output despite working fewer hours. This may be due to improved focus, motivation, and job satisfaction resulting from the shorter workweek.

Improved Staff Retention

Happier staff often stay employed with the same company longer. So with all these benefits, attracting great talent and keeping it becomes easier.

Reduced Costs for Business

With everyone spending one less day in your office each week, utility bills and day-to-day running costs drop. It also reduces the amount of maintenance needed on your office due to wear and tear.

Environmental Benefits

With fewer commuting days, there is a reduction in traffic congestion and carbon emissions. Additionally, companies can reduce their energy consumption and operating costs by closing their offices for an extra day each week. This can have a major positive impact on a company’s carbon footprint and support its ESG policy.

Improved Balance of Needs

A 4-day work week provides a better balance between the flexibility staff require and the need to provide a space in the office which fosters collaboration and builds a sense of community – vital for running a modern business.  

Disadvantages of a 4-day Working Week

It can’t be all good, right? Of course not. There are some significant concerns to consider when implementing a 4-day week. Most importantly, will it work for your industry and business or even the role you hold? If you are still trying to decide, seek advice from a business leader in a similar industry who has tried it.

Reduced Collaboration

With each employee only in the office 4 days a week, roles that require collaboration and constant communication can find it difficult to arrange a time to meet colleagues. Often with a 5-day work week, we find our calendars full of meetings, so this can become more difficult with fewer hours in the week.

Shift Workers Get Less Pay

Reducing the total workweek hours could reduce overall pay for shift workers if their hourly rate isn’t raised. This can also lead to staff shortages.

Increased Need for Staff

This is relevant for businesses that need to be covered 7 days a week, like health care or customer service, even if their employees only work 4 days each. Having one less day in the workplace means these businesses will have to hire new staff to cover the extra days, which obviously has a further cost involved.

This also affects industries such as agencies. With their service relying on the time of their employees, if each employee works one less day, more staff will be needed to meet the promised time allowance for clients, or clients could find work and schedules delayed.

Can Lead to More Stress

While the report shows most employees reported less stress, some reported more. With fewer days to complete their work, it’s easy to see how those with overwhelming workloads may not find the idea of fewer days in the office enticing.

Office Not Fit-For-Purpose

Implementing big changes like this can have a knock-on effect on your office space. You may find various parts of your office become unnecessary, or you need new areas you still need to consider. You may even find the size of your office isn’t suitable for the new staff you’ve had to employ to cover the extra days. Consulting an office fit-out expert like DENTON can help you future-proof your office, prepare for any changes that may come your way, and can help you decide whether to relocate or refurbish.

Adapting Your Office for the Future

Adapting your office to fit a 4-day work week can involve a range of changes to both physical and organisational aspects of the workplace. Things to consider from a policy point of view may include:

• Which day does each employee get off?
• Does this affect holiday allowance?
• Can days be switched?
• Will hourly rates be affected?
• Does this align with other schemes like hybrid working and hot desking?

And then, there are the physical changes to the office needed to accommodate the new work style. Workplace design has traditionally focused on leaders’ needs by creating executive floors or suites set apart from the rest of the organisation and often aimed for an open-plan layout. It constrains building transparency and makes it harder for leaders to have serendipitous connections with employees. A fundamentally different approach to leadership spaces can be an essential tool for building the kind of culture and fostering the behaviours that make a 4-day working week successful.

DENTON’s top tip – create leadership neighbourhoods

We believe workplaces should be more inclusive and create a sense of community that people and organisations need to thrive, so we design workspaces that are more like vibrant neighbourhoods. Office neighbourhoods are a tangible way for leaders to communicate their business values and shift their culture.

Every neighbourhood should have its own distinctive character and four fundamental design principles guide its creation.

• Me + We: A leadership community should support both individual and teamwork in the same way a neighbourhood has homes and shared spaces. 
  
  
• Fixed-to-Fluid: It is essential for leaders to have resilient and agile workspaces that can flex according to their needs.A space that is easy to change on demand will be more effective.
  
  
• Open + Enclosed: Privacy and focus in the office have become even more imperative. Leaders need to be able to find the privacy they require.
  
  
• Intwining Digital + Physical: Video spaces are more in demand now than ever before. Video meetings are the new norm in the office, and everyone must be able to see and hear each other. In order to provide a seamless experience for participants onsite and remotely, both technology and physical space must be considered holistically. Consider the benefits of a smart office to implement technology within your space fully.
  

DENTON, staying up to date with workplace needs

While a shorter workweek has many potential benefits, including improved productivity, employee wellbeing, and environmental benefits, it’s important to consider the potential drawbacks and assess whether it is a suitable model for your business. Even then, it is still important to remember the extent and success of these initiatives can vary widely depending on the industry, company, and specific circumstances of each employee.

Implementing a 4-day working week may be some time away for many UK businesses, but you still need to make improvements to your office that can benefit you and your employees. By taking a proactive approach and focusing on productivity, communication, and collaboration, you can create a work environment that is more fulfilling, efficient, and sustainable. At DENTON, we stay updated with the latest design trends and office needs. We can help fit out your space to improve productivity and workplace wellbeing, whether you’re considering implementing a 3-day weekend or not.

As a leading office fit-out company, we are committed to staying ahead of the curve and helping our clients create workplaces that adapt as their employee’s needs change. Drop our friendly, experienced team a line today and let’s start an office design and build project together. Or, take a look at some of our recent projects to learn more about the services we offer.