Could a four-day week boost productivity and retain top talent in your PR agency or team? As the bank holiday season enters full flow, it seems like a sensible time to consider how it may or may not work for your organisation.
From holidays abroad to annual wellbeing allowances, successful organisations are getting more creative about how they attract and retain top talent. The four-day week looks set to be a hot contender on the list of ‘above-and-beyond’ perks you can offer. And it may even become the norm one day. But is it for you?
Here are some questions to ask yourself before you decide whether to offer a four-day working week to your employees:
What benefits could it bring your organisation?
Poor mental health is estimated to cost employers £33bn to £42bn a year and a shorter working week could give employees more headspace and time to pursue hobbies, voluntary work or home life one day each week, and therefore feel more energised to work productively and efficiently during the four days you’ve got them for.
Are any of your employees experiencing mental health or productivity issues? If so, you could offer them a four-day week on a trial basis and review the impact on both the business and the employee after a couple of months. It goes without saying that you need to make sure the employee is, in fact, happy with the arrangement rather than forcing it upon them.
What are the risks?
With all the best intentions to improve wellbeing through a four-day week, there will always be some people that feel compelled to continue working on their ‘day off’ as some already do so on their existing weekends. It might be worth having a policy like some organisations have introduced, encouraging staff not to check emails outside of working hours, or not to work on their day off, for example.
You may or may not think this is realistic but it’s the culture you communicate that counts. If people choose not to follow it or feel that they really have to break the rules on occasion then at least you’ve set the right expectations as an employer which should filter down to teams.
How would you measure success?
Before you roll out a four-day week you need to consider why you’re doing it and how you will measure whether it’s a success. For example, if the main reason is to ultimately improve productivity, consider what changes you would like to see as evidence of improvements here.
You’ll need to record current productivity levels and compare them at various stages, such as after six weeks, then 12 weeks, for example. Survey staff to ask them how they’re finding it and whether it’s had an impact on their ability to focus. Are employees coming up with more creative ideas than before? Are they complaining less about being stressed?
If any of your existing staff already work four-day weeks, review how it’s working for them and the organisation, and use that as an indicator of how it could work if more or all staff moved to this model.
So, is a four-day week worth trialling in your organisation? It could be, or maybe just not now, maybe not ever. But it is certainly worth thinking about and discussing with your employees at least.
PRWeek Jobs can help you build your employer brand to attract and retain top PR and communications talent. Email prcamembersjobs@haymarket.com for information about special member packages.