During May, the UK has two bank holidays, meaning many people will be working four-day weeks without a reduction in pay – a system that we have operated here at CTP since 2018*. Our Head of Operations Katie Tiplady-Startin reflects on whether now is the perfect time to prove to business leaders that this model is not only possible but better.

‘Time is a human construct’ is an off-the-cuff comment used in our household to justify running late, which is often! But whether we look at this philosophically or through the lens of physics, we can be very clear on one thing – society, and our economic model are the reasons we spend the hours at work that we currently do.

Many religions confer a rest day – the Sabbath (from sunset on Friday to Saturday) in Judaism, Sunday to represent the day God rested after creating heaven and earth in Christianity, and Friday as a day of prayer in Islam. Within a secular society, weekends came about as part of a trade movement after the two world wars of the early 20th century. They were seen as a way to reduce the number of staff that had to be laid off when less work was available, therefore saving organisations money in training and recruitment. You can read more about the roots of the two day weekend at BBC Bitesize. 

In the post-war years, gradual changes to the working week continued, with the introduction of the 40-hour working week and increased union influence on working conditions, holiday pay and other worker benefits. A 4-day work week has now become a consideration for many, but there are different ways to do this and there are workers that would benefit while others would lose out, depending on how it is implemented. A true 4-day week would see staff working fewer hours for no reduction in pay. However, some organisations just reduce workers’ hours and their salary pro rata. 

‘Truly flexible working with fair pay for the work delivered will ensure a happier, healthier and more fulfilled society’

The economic system that Western societies labour under dictates that more is better, growth is good, and bigger is best. The wellbeing economy tells us that by putting the needs of the many into focus, we create better outputs and living conditions, but not necessarily more. By these very standards, a 4-day working week must be a better option, surely? 

Certainly, it is a very good starting point on the journey towards a fairer working environment, but at CTP, we don’t believe it is the end point. Truly flexible working with fair pay for the work delivered, with a clear aim to achieve high-quality, sustainable products and services, will not only ensure a happier, healthier and more fulfilled society but also mean that business is positively contributing to the way society is evolving. 

So, during May, as some of us enjoy our bank holiday breaks, maybe this is the perfect time to prove to business leaders that this model is not only possible but better? Within service and office-based industries, where the five-day, nine-to-five model persists, it could point management towards a less intense system that actually works for its employees and its business. We should also remember that many of the activities and choices office workers make on a bank holiday directly impact those working in retail and hospitality and that – despite an abundance of employment laws – there is no legal right to a bank holiday off work, so many people in those sectors have no choice but to work.

Which brings us to other sectors, employees whose working hours are stretched across longer days or in shift patterns. That is where flexible, person-centred jobs make all the difference. Why let the ‘normal’ way dictate the best way? Many studies have shown that flexible working with fair pay boosts wellbeing and morale, having an automatic impact on the quality of work produced. It can be very easy to get sucked into the ‘productivity vortex’, where we buckle under the pressure to get more and more work done – answering that email out of hours, responding to ‘urgent’ requests. Instead we could be building jobs and cultures where high-quality work is the gold standard, where people feel valued and connected to what they do and the mantra that 37.5 hours is the only way to do things is obsolete. 

Let’s hope that in 50 years’ time, those students using BBC Bitesize resources to understand working patterns see the names of organisations like ours as having revolutionised work, taking us from ‘more, better, bigger’ to ‘healthier, happier, connected’. 

Katie Tiplady-Startin, Head of Operations

*officially registered with the 4 Day Week Foundation in 2023.

Photo by Hansjörg Keller on Unsplash