There have been murmurings about introducing a 4-day working week for a decade or more. More recently, the pandemic, social pressures, and the positive results of 4-day working week trials are leading more organisations to take the concept more seriously.
What is driving the need for a 4-day week?
A 40-hour-plus week is pretty standard in the UK and many employees will regularly exceed these hours with no overtime pay.
Long hours, along with the rising cost of living, skills shortages and family pressures are leading to increased anxiety and burnout which is costing the economy millions of pounds a year.
So how will fewer hours solve the issues?
Working from home during the pandemic has led many businesses to question whether they need employees to be office-based full-time. Furthermore, they have seen more productivity and fewer sickness absences.
A recent large-scale study of 33 global organisations and almost 1,000 people resulted in increased productivity, increased revenue, better employee wellbeing, and lower carbon emissions.
Edison Group is another example, recently announcing that it is giving its employees three days off each week in a bid to improve mental health and wellbeing, again demonstrating that less can result in more.
How can a 4-day week reduce costs in the workplace?
Introducing a 4-day week does require careful planning. Businesses don’t necessarily need to close the business for one day each week, they simply need to reassess how they work and the space they need to continue to operate efficiently.
A 4-day working week can become part of an ESG strategy; better working practices, along with a better working environment will lead to better outcomes for people and businesses.
In addition to employee benefits, carbon emissions will be reduced:
- Employees will take fewer car journeys
- Less computer and appliance use
- Less water, lighting, heating, and cooling
- Lower maintenance costs
The importance of a space strategy for flexible working
If you are thinking about introducing a 4-day working week then a space strategy should go hand-in-hand with this as it could reduce your business costs by up to 20%.
A space strategy will show you how you can adapt your current workplace to provide you with a more flexible, efficient and sustainable working space designed for modern-day needs.
It may also reveal that you need significantly less space which in turn could lead you to relocate to a new area in the building or even a new location, further reducing annual costs.
A space strategy will not only look at the space required, but will also recommend furnishings, screens, lighting, seating, rest areas, partitioning, flooring and much more.
Candour Facilities Management are expert in space optimisation. Using the latest technologies, we will help you to smoothly transition your workplace to one that is modern, comfortable and hugely beneficial to your employees, your business, and the planet.
Contact us today for an informal chat about your space strategy needs.
