One thousand UK workers are set to trial a four-day week with no pay cut, as Labour no longer opposes the concept.
Brits seem to be intrigued by this move as searches for ‘Labour four day week’ have increased 1,350% in the past seven days, in an attempt to understand whether it’s possible for them.
Flexible working queries sky-rocket:
‘Labour four day week’ (past 7 days) +1,350%
‘Jobs with good work-life balance (past 7 days) +500%
‘Four-day week trial’ (past 7 days) +350%
‘Flexible working regulations’ (past 30 days) +160%
‘12.21 per hour annual salary’ (past 30 days) +4,650%
‘Flexible working definition’ (past 7 days) +80%
‘Employment rights bill legislation’ (past 30 days) +400%
‘Apply for flexible working’ (past 30 days) +500%
Upon hearing this, Shai Aharony, CEO of digital PR agency Reboot Online shares his experience with implementing flexible working policies such as a four-day working week and working from abroad on the business, as well as how this has impacted employees’ day-to-day lives.
While Amazon face contention with their staff, standing firmly on their demand that employees head back to the office, Shai mentioned “Our 4-day cycle means our team receives 100% of the pay for 80% of the time in exchange for a commitment to achieve at least 100% productivity. In 2021, Reboot became one of the first search-led digital marketing agencies to offer a 4-day working week. It’s been a huge success; our employees love it!” says Shai.
“After working in some terrible companies ourselves, we were always very keen to ensure that Reboot is a company we would want to work for ourselves. One that prioritises the well-being of our team and allows its employees to have a great work-life balance.
That's why we wanted to make Reboot fully remote, embrace a four-day work week, and offer a nomad policy, as well as creating a leading parental leave policy and very competitive pay. We're not just pushing SEO boundaries; we're building a company where our employees can thrive, living their best lives too.”
“Traditional workplace schedules have failed to evolve with the diverse needs of employees. A 4-day work week gives people the time they need to fully decompress after the working week, manage life admin, work on passion projects, and spend more time with their families. In our experience, this allows employees to show up as their happiest, most productive selves.”
“Not all employees thrive on a traditional 9-5 structure. In our industry, creativity is so important and gives our staff the opportunity to work at times that best suit them. Whether that’s logging on at 7:30am for the early risers, or logging on later and working until later in the day, flexible working hours gives our employees the autonomy to work when they are the most productive.”
“In today’s job market, providing flexible working policies as standard is essential for attracting and retaining top talent. We’ve found that our agency has become a desirable place to work due to the commitment to honouring employees’ unique needs and preferences, as well as highlighting the forward-thinking workplace culture.”
“Return to office mandates and strict 9-5 working policies ultimately exclude entire demographics, whether that’s parents that have young children, those who have long commutes to get to the office, or those that have chronic conditions that mean working in an office 5 days a week is not feasible. The nomad policy has also been utilised by team members who want to visit their family and home country. At Reboot, we’re striving to build and maintain a workplace culture that is inclusive of everyone, and offering flexible working plays a huge role in that.”
“Whether our team wants to be there to drop their kids off at school, or hit the gym for a morning session without waking up at 5am, Reboot employees have the option of logging on as early as 7.30am, and as late as 10am. We’ve created a culture at Reboot that allows work to adapt around life, without compromising on efficiency and productivity.”
“Having Fridays off, every week, also gives our team a 3 day weekend to do what they love. Our digital PR account director, Alexa, loves to explore and hike on her Fridays off, while digital PR Manager, Georgina, loves to spend them having date days with her husband.”