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But, over the past eight weeks, thousands of people across the UK have tried a four-day scheme to help usher in a new era of work – without taking a cut from their pay.
Lisa Gilbert, lending services manager at charity bank, an ethical lender in the south west of England, described her new role as “fantastic”.
“Now I’m really excited about my weekend because if I want to take my Friday for errands and other errands or … take my mom for a walk, I can now do it without feeling guilty,” she told CNN Business.
Gilbert takes care of her son and two elderly parents. An extra day off in the week means she won’t be picking up her groceries at 6am on Saturday morning and can devote more time to her family.
I find myself saying ‘yes we can’ as opposed to ‘no sorry we can’t’.
The program is being run by the non-profit 4 Days Global, Autonomy, a think tank and the 4 Days Week UK campaign in collaboration with researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and Boston College.
But, for Gilbert, the verdict is already in: “It’s life-changing,” she said.
‘Really messed up’
The transition hasn’t been without a hitch, though.
Samantha Losey, managing director of PR agency Unity in London, told CNN Business that the first week was “really chaotic” as her team was not prepared for the short handover.
“To be completely honest with you, those first two weeks were really chaotic. We were in the store. I thought I had made a big mistake. I didn’t know what to do,” she said.
But her team quickly found ways to make it work. Now the company has banned all internal meetings for more than five minutes, keeps all client meetings to 30 minutes and has introduced a “traffic light” system to prevent unnecessary disruptions – colleagues have a light on their desk and turn it ‘green’. ‘Amber’ if they’re happy to chat, ‘Amber’ if they’re busy but ready to talk and ‘Red’ if they don’t want to be interrupted.
“There’s a good 25% chance we won’t get it, but the team is fighting for it incredibly so far,” she said.
‘like a library’
Crucially, those trials found no commensurate reduction in productivity—and no significant increase in worker safety.
For two hours each morning and two hours in the afternoon, Conroy employees ignore emails, calls or group messages and focus on their projects.
“The whole place runs like a library, and everyone just puts their heads down and crushes their work,” he said.
According to a survey of 10,600 workers by Asana last September, people spend most of their days ‘busy-work’ – or working for the sake of work. The software company found that employees in the United States spend 58% of their day answering e-mail and attending meetings rather than actually working.
Conroy said meetings in the company used to be “talk shop” but now they are limited to 30 minutes and are only allowed in the two hours outside of ‘deep work time’.
The results have all exceeded expectations.
“[The team] They realized that they were breaking projects that they had always put on the back burner and started,” Koroi said.
‘Fit for the 21st Century’
The extra day has led many workers to take up new hobbies, fulfill long-term ambitions, or simply invest more time in their relationships.
Employees on the trial have taken up cooking, piano lessons, volunteering, fishing and rollerskating, their bosses told CNN Business.
For Unity account director Emily Morrison, who has battled anxiety for most of her adult life, the benefits are more fundamental.
“Having more time off on the weekend and getting into the ‘Sunday Dread’ has helped me improve my mental health and approach the week with a more positive attitude,” she told CNN Business.
Losey said the main reason she decided to enroll Unity in the pilot was to compensate for the “unusual level of fatigue” her staff experienced during the worst of the outbreak.
Mark Howland, director of marketing and communications for Charity Bank, told CNN Business that they use their time off to improve their health and fitness.
He always wanted to compete in triathlons, but felt guilty about spending time away from his family to train. Not anymore.
“On my day off, I’ve been going on really long bike rides, taking care of myself, taking some time off, and then spending the whole weekend at home getting things done and spending time with the family,” Howland said.
The bank is unlikely to return to its previous state.
“The five-day work week is a 20th-century concept, not fit for the 21st century,” he said.
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