Some people refer to the fire service as a business. Okay, well let's model the progressive corporations then. The four day civilian workweek is finding success around the world. . A healthy, happy workforce is a productive and efficient workforce. If the business world can go to a 32 hour week, the fire service can certainly make the 42 hour 24/72 schedule an industry standard. How did Iceland’s 4-day week turn out? Incredibly well, as it happens. “In 2023, Iceland’s economy expanded by 5%, a growth rate second only to Malta among rich European economies.” “Icelands low unemployment rate… stood at 3.4% last year just over half the average for advanced European economies.” The shorter working week 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴. It’s time for a 4-day week. ⏰

200 UK companies are now signed up for a 4-day work week. The gain for the worker compared to the cost is insane. And what even is the cost? ✅ +35% average increase in revenue from trialists ✅ -57% employee churn ✅ 39% of staff feel less stressed ✅ 92% of companies that piloted it kept it All this from the 4 Day Week Campaign where organisations like Atom bank (shout out to a northeast-based company) have signed up to the 4-day week and are seeing benefits. Speaking from experience it had a huge impact mentally for me. The remaining days I was far more engaged, able to focus, and get more done.

🇬🇧 Two hundred UK companies have signed up for a permanent four-day working week for all their employees with no loss of pay, in the latest landmark in the campaign to reinvent Britain’s working week. Together the companies employ more than 5,000 people, with charities, marketing and technology firms among the best-represented, according to the latest update from the 4 Day Week Foundation. Proponents of the four-day week say that the five-day pattern is a hangover from an earlier economic age. Joe Ryle, the foundation’s campaign director, said that the “9-5, five-day working week was invented 100 years ago and is no longer fit for purpose. We are long overdue an update.” With “50% more free time, a four-day week gives people the freedom to live happier, more fulfilling lives”, he continued. “As hundreds of British companies and one local council have already shown, a four-day week with no loss of pay can be a win-win for both workers and employers.” 🔍 In 2023, my Swinburne University of Technology colleagues and I interviewed 10 Australian firms who have already adopted the 4-day work week, and you can read our findings via the link below👇🏻 https://lnkd.in/gdFRsU3z ❓Do you agree, is it time to revamp the century-old working week? Keen to hear your thoughts and opinions. 🙏🏻 WorkFLEX-Australia #4dayweek #4dayworkweek #fourdayweek #fourdayworkweek #futureofwork The Guardian Author: Kalyeena Makortoff

📈 The concept of a four-day workweek is gaining momentum in Europe.   💡 Preliminary results from national trials in Iceland and the UK indicate that workers experience improved rest, reduced stress, and a better work-life balance when they work one day less.   🧐 There are many factors at play, including the legal and administrative burdens, the role of unions and setting clear policies on who decides what, and when.    🌐 Shorter workweeks might be a realistic prospect in sectors that can automate work more easily, it's a different story for those working in services or industries facing staff shortages.   🇬🇧 The next UK pilot project is open for sign ups for a November start, with findings due to be presented to the government in the summer of 2025 https://lnkd.in/g57BCx5   ⚙️ For us, having 4-day weeks as an available choice makes sense. It’s important that workers and industries can opt out to suit their needs. As Greece has done recently for businesses that operate 24/7; whilst making it optional for workers (who get paid 40%+ if they opt in). It’s never as simple as yes-or-no.   Has your team tried a 4-day week?    Read more on the BBC and in Fortune below.    👉 The four-day workweek is slowly gaining momentum across Europe https://lnkd.in/eijrhSBQ 👉 Greece starts six-day working week for some industries https://lnkd.in/eMUiJxhe   #4dayweek #futureofwork #leadership #careers #portfoliocareers

#PeopleFirst for a #Greatplacetowork #Fourdayworkweek "More UK companies are about to trial a four-day week, and all employees could soon get the right to switch off. It’s still just baby steps." "Keynes wrote Economic Possibilities in the depths of the Great Depression; in 2024, it still feels properly audacious. A three-hour day is an idea even #softlife TikTok girlies wouldn’t dare to dream of: enough time with people you love and to fulfil your caring responsibilities; time for self-care, with proper food and exercise; time to engage in your community and to pursue diverse, intellectually satisfying interests? It’s the kind of decadent socialist wonderland that hardline Republicans in the US imagine Europe to be." "We are starting to look more critically at whether long working hours serve us. Critiques of hustle culture become ever more pointed. When the UK’s four-day-week trials concluded last year, 56 out of 61 companies chose to continue with the model; a second pilot is planned for November. Several European countries have legislated to protect employees’ out-of-work hours." "OK, Keynes underestimated the increase in post-work life expectancy; how the invention of better stuff would push us to desire and strive for it; and how much the distribution of wealth matters. But we live in a time of technological and AI-enabled wonderment that even Keynes could not have imagined. It is also a time of overconfident billionaire “disruptors”, beneficiaries of that unfair distribution of wealth." We were promised a 15-hour working week. What’s the hold-up? The Guardian: https://lnkd.in/ebuqrqXT #DecentWork #Teamwork

The four-day workweek: How it’s working at two companies Can companies really rely on at least the same amount and quality of work getting done with employees working fewer days? The Mint: June 20, 2024 https://lnkd.in/dTFTswM7 #fourdayworkweek #workweek #professionalservices

Have you been yearning for a 4-day work week? UK’s Labour Government is currently working on policies that might make this possible to request from your first day. 🌟 We've gathered insights on the policies and practices that provide inspiring, supportive and brilliant workplaces for Top Creative Companies awards - founded by If You Could Jobs, Supported by It's Nice That. 📊 Here are some key insights: • 16% of creative companies surveyed for TCC have a 4-day work week. (Source: If You Could’s TCC, https://lnkd.in/dk5YxivC) • Labour are puzzling out a 4-day working week approach through compressed hours and the Right To Switch Off. (Source: TLDR News, https://lnkd.in/dydXUQkF) • The momentum for shorter working week has been building up across Europe with countries like Belgium having legislated it back in 2022. (Source: Euro News, https://lnkd.in/exrECSNB) 🌟 Why it matters and recent news: • “Almost every company (92%) that took part has decided to continue with the four-day week after the [UK] pilot.” (Source: 4 Day Week, https://lnkd.in/eeEMXxfK) • There are larger benefits for an extra day off like how a mum-of-two is saving around £350 a month on childcare (Source: BBC News, https://lnkd.in/eCKKZSd5) 🔗 Access Our Report Download our TCC Snapshot report to see how your company compares and get snapshots straight to your inbox → https://lnkd.in/dk5YxivC 💬 Join the Conversation! We'd love to hear your thoughts having a shorter work week in our creative workplaces. #CreativeIndustry #EmployeeWellbeing #TopCreativeCompanies #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeEngagement #CreativeCareers #Benchmarking

It looks as if the four-day working week may be gaining some traction. Two hundred companies across the UK companies - employing more than 5,000 people - have now committed to a permanent four-day working week, according to the 4 Day Week Foundation. They might be small numbers in the grand scheme of things, but it is an indication that the idea is starting to grow in popularity. The companies who have made the switch have pledged to maintain a shorter week with no loss of pay. Joe Ryle, the foundation’s campaign director, said: "The nine-to-five, five-day working week was invented 100 years ago and is no longer fit for purpose. We are long overdue an update. "With 50% more free time, a four-day week gives people the freedom to live happier, more fulfilling lives.” Marketing, advertising, and PR companies were the most represented among the companies making the switch to date, with 30 employers signing up. There were 29 employers in charity, NGOs, and social care, and 24 in technology, IT, and software. London employers are the most likely to have committed to a four-day week, with 59 of the total. #fourdayweek #workinglife #hrconsultancy

The 4-day workweek quite often reveals an unspoken truth, which is that - across the country - a considerable number of office/desk workers are really already only working four days; they're just spreading it out over five days. Nobody really wants to say the quiet part out loud, of course, but it's true. My personal opinion is that the 4-day workweek will work very well in some instances (it already has). In others, it will just be a slippery slope towards decreased productivity; people can only work at a certain pace, and they'll now just carry that pace out over 4 days instead of 5. Eventually, less will get done, necessitating either more hiring or less output. Also, as the 4-day workweek is normalized, some people will eventually start to think that 4 days is too much, and start eyeing the 3-day workweek. Give it time. The major growth in the 4-day workweek will also occur in government and quasi-government organizations, where there's little or no competition and declining productivity can be better camouflaged. In Acadia's case, a 10-week pilot is far too short to understand the long term tenability of this arrangement. In effect, it's just another two weeks' vacation (which, hey, I certainly wouldn't complain about if I worked there). #4dayworkweek #business #nonprofit

The word "weekend" comes from the words "week" and "end" and was first recorded between 1875 and 1880. The practice of giving workers the weekend off became more efficient for factory owners in the late 1800s when many Jewish immigrants wanted Saturday off to observe their traditional day of rest. Weekend is the period of time between the end of one work or school week and the beginning of the next. In most places, the weekend is Saturday and Sunday, while the workweek is Monday to Friday. However, the definition of a weekend can vary depending on the region, the calendar, and the working week.