_The four-day working week debate: should there be a death knell for 9-5 office culture?

Whilst enhanced communication 24/7 can make our lives easier, we can equally fall prey to the “digital leash”, a leash which ties us permanently to our job.

This work-life balance debate has been gaining traction recently, with warnings that working too hard, tethered to this leash, can have serious implications for your mental and physical health. One of the most dramatic interventions into this debate has been by the TUC, endorsed by elements of the Labour and Green parties, who want the working week cut to four days.

The TUC believes that employees should keep their pay, but work fewer hours; enjoying a day off in the week to pursue their own interests or spending time with their family.  

The organisation argued that a four-day working week would be possible if businesses were forced to share the benefits of new technology, like artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, with their workforce. 

One option suggested to facilitate a four-day week is to create more paid bank holidays. The economic effects would be to increase annual pay per hour worked in a year, and ensure the "gains from increased productivity is automatically passed on to workers".

There is no doubt that trying to boost productivity by reducing hours worked would not be without its costs. France, for example, has higher unemployment than the UK.

It is likely that its more restrictive labour laws have meant that companies have invested more in machinery to reduce the number of people they need. Also, a working paper from the International Monetary Fund suggested that the 35-hour week in France had reduced employment and not made workers any happier.

However it would be dangerous to get too swayed by the French experience. Every country and its workforce are different. This debate is not just about maintaining economic growth - part of the idea of the four-day week is to create a more sustainable economy, to stop being obsessed by growth and to start thinking about having a lower impact on the environment for everyone’s benefit.

Taking the idea further, the left of centre think tank, the New Economics Foundation, did some work on the idea of a more radical 21-hour working week. It said that in addition to reducing environmental impact, a 21-hour week would distribute work more evenly across the population, reducing both the problems of over-work and unemployment, as well as evening up the amount of unpaid work done by men and women.

But can a four-day week really resolve rising stress and health problems, whilst at the same time not damaging productivity? It’s a fine line to tread. It is true that productivity relies not just on the sheer amount of hours put in, but on the wellbeing, fatigue levels and overall health of the worker.  

Productivity drops after the 35th hour of weekly work, according to a study for the Institute for Labour Economics. A study of call centres found that calls were handled less efficiently the longer people worked. When they work shorter hours, people tend to be more relaxed – and more productive.

But the Confederation of British Industry disagrees, arguing: “At a time when flexible working is becoming more essential than ever, rigid approaches like a four-day week feel like a step in the wrong direction. Businesses are clear that politicians should work with them to avoid policies that work as a soundbite but not a solution”.

Ultimately, it must be down to individual companies to decide what is best for them, balancing the wellbeing of their workforce with the need to be successful.

Elizabeth Peckett, Asset Manager of Leeds Dock for Allied London, commented: “Having worked in London for 10 years, and now in an area of Leeds that attracts a diverse range of digital, tech and media companies, I rarely see a 9 to 5 working day.

"In London, my days would merge into the evening with late meetings or work events.  At Leeds Dock, it’s not unusual to see young tech companies working during the weekend in their homely, dog-friendly workspaces.  

“I am most productive and engaged when I have the flexibility to fit my working day around my lifestyle.  Some weeks, four long days may suit my schedule, and the next I may opt to work six shorter days."

"My CEO publicly shared on social media: “Monday Motivation: Try and spend Mondays doing what you want to do. It will make for a better week. Whilst this is not always possible with scheduled meetings and shifts, he (and I) firmly believes that freestyling your working hours harnesses creativity.”  

Eamon Fox is a Partner, Head of Offices & Development in Yorkshire. Eamon was voted Deal Maker of the Year 2016 & 2019 at the CoStar Awards, and has a comprehensive and successful history of providing Marketing Strategy, Development, Letting and Acquisition advice to Landlord, Investor and Occupier clients throughout the Yorkshire & Humberside region. Find out more: