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Largest UK public sector trial of four-day week sees huge benefits, research finds

“In the largest public sector trial of the four-day week in Britain, fewer refuse collectors quit,” reports the Guardian, “and there were faster planning decisions, more rapid benefits processing and quicker call answering, independent research has found.” South Cambridgeshire district council’s controversial experiment with a shorter working week resulted in improvements in performance in 11 out of 24 areas, little or no change in 11 areas and worsening of performance in two areas, according to analysis of productivity before and during the 15-month trial by academics at the universities of Cambridge and Salford… The multi-year study of the trial involving about 450 desk staff plus refuse collectors found:

  • Staff turnover fell by 39%, helping save £371,500 in a year, mostly on agency staff costs.
  • Regular household planning applications were decided about a week and a half earlier.
  • Approximately 15% more major planning application decisions were completed within the correct timescale, compared with before.
  • The time taken to process changes to housing benefit and council tax benefit claims fell… Under the South Cambridgeshire trial, which began in January 2023 and ran to April 2024, staff were expected to carry out 100% of their work in 80% of the time for 100% of the pay. The full trial cut staff turnover by 39% and scores for employees’ physical and mental health, motivation and commitment all improved, the study showed. “Coupled with the hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayer money that we have saved, improved recruitment and retention and positives around health and wellbeing, this brave and pioneering trial has clearly been a success,” said John Williams, the lead council member for resources…

Scores of private companies have already adopted the approach, with many finding it helps staff retention. Ryle said the South Cambridgeshire results “prove once and for all that a four-day week with no loss of pay absolutely can succeed in a local government setting”.

maxinstuff ,
@maxinstuff@lemmy.world avatar

This old chestnut again.

It’s always some government department or tech company sitting on a pile of VC money.

Easy to make it work when the people were barely working in the first place, and with no competitive pressure.

Let’s see it at a construction project with a real deadline, or at a business in any kind of competitive industry.

Does anyone actually think that day 5 of a work week has a zero or even negative productivity value?

hikaru755 ,

Does anyone actually think that day 5 of a work week has a zero or even negative productivity value?

The rationale is that productivity increases a lot on the remaining four days if employees can actually relax and get private shit done over a 3 day weekend. I do see that this is probably gonna work differently for things like factory line workers, but for office jobs I can totally see this work

dactylotheca ,
@dactylotheca@suppo.fi avatar

Unfortunately, for some “leaders” it won’t make any difference what the numbers say about 4 day work weeks.

I tried to get it implemented at a company that I co-founded, and despite presenting multiple studies showing that we would very likely save money and be more efficient, our CEO simply ignored them and kept repeating that a 4 day week wouldn’t be efficient. They had zero interest in what statistics and studies say; they’re the CEO and if their gut feeling says 4 days bad, then 4 days bad (and no their decision wasn’t due to them having information I didn’t have). I’ve heard similar stories from others.

Hopefully the results of this trial won’t just get ignored and forgotten.

maxinstuff ,
@maxinstuff@lemmy.world avatar

Your competitors are willing to work 5 days.

The studies mean nothing, they’re all done in vacuums with government or very sheltered (or overfunded) companies.

It cannot work until it’s legislated (like the 40 hr work week was).

dactylotheca ,
@dactylotheca@suppo.fi avatar

The studies mean nothing

Well at least I know it’s probably pointless to try and argue

pufferfisherpowder ,

You must be CEO of your own ignorance

Blumpkinhead ,

But if the studies are right, your competitors are spending more money and being less effecient than you. Wouldn’t it just make good business sense to go with the 4 day work week?

tlou3please ,

These people will come round when nobody wants to work for them. Same thing happened/is happening with WFH and hybrid jobs.

Etterra ,

When your co-founder ignores you then it’s time to get out.

dactylotheca ,
@dactylotheca@suppo.fi avatar

Funny you should mention that; guess where I don’t work anymore?

But yes, absolutely right. While I honestly believed (and still do) in what the company is doing and really wanted to do my part in making it work, I’m not going to bother pouring so much of myself into work if I don’t get treated as an equal. Honestly there were so many red flags before that too, thinking back, but that was definitely the last straw. Took me a while to get the message, heh

foggy ,

Have any of these countries attempting these tried implementing it in schools? Wonder how it’d shake out for kids.

meant2live218 ,

As long as schools are treated as “free daycare” and work weeks remain 5 days long, it’ll never fly.

frankspurplewings ,

thecalifornianpaper.com/…/district-should-impleme…

There are a handful of districts making the switch. Most districts plan around educational hours instead of school days. It can be done with the right planning.

But the childcare aspect is huge. The district I work for started the conversation of a four day week in school year 22-23, but it stalled when they didn’t get support from parents and the local large hiring companies. I hope that discussion comes back eventually.

CheeseNoodle ,

Honestly I don’t think schools are ever going to truly work until we can figure out some way to not have people doing their primary learning while their brain is a hormonal dumpster fire. Which would probably require some kind of radical life extension so people can go to school after puberty or something.

TrickDacy ,

… Wtf

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah, we wouldn’t want to teach people to read and write when they’re too young. That would be bad because hormones.

dojan ,
@dojan@lemmy.world avatar

It’s not about hormones, the problem is the way education is structured today. It doesn’t engage students properly. Sure there’s a bunch of extrinsic motivation, grades, punishment for not performing, etc. but there’s no fostering of intrinsic motivation.

Without motivation you won’t see results.

For intrinsic motivation to work, the system needs to meet the students where they’re at. That won’t work with all the standardisation that we’re attempting.

Sure, a lot of students will manage, some will even thrive, but those that don’t will be left by the wayside.

dojan ,
@dojan@lemmy.world avatar

Ah, four day week instead of a seven day one? Nice! I better only have to work for two days.

TrickDacy ,

Cool you are cryptic

dojan ,
@dojan@lemmy.world avatar

I don’t see how I’m being cryptic. I’m poking fun at the headline saying that they’re trialling a four day week, not a four day work week.

My apologies if that was too obtuse.

itsnotits ,

I’d* better

dojan ,
@dojan@lemmy.world avatar

Good catch, thank you!

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