A New Way of Working.
The 4-day work week is a recurring topic in the news, with plenty of discourse trying to assess if this format of working is productive or suboptimal. Many organisations are questioning the traditional working week format. With more employers adapting to hybrid and remote working, and a desire for an enhanced work-life balance, many organisations are now considering the 4-day working week.
In 2021, a report from the Hanley Business School was conducted that looked at how many organisations offered all or some of their staff the option of working a 4-day work week in comparison to 2019. The survey showed an increase of 65% of companies, up from 50%, which shows that it is becoming a more valid and popular concept.
The concept of the 4-day work week is simple; employees are able to work four days a week instead of the traditional five. There are two ways in which this can work, depending on the employer’s approach. This could mean either that the hours worked in a 5-day work week are compressed into 4 days, which means longer days (10 hours a day for 4-days a week). Alternatively, this would involve working fewer hours than the traditional 5-day work week, but with employee pay staying the same.
The Benefits & Disadvantages
There are plenty of reasons why this new way of working is becoming so popular. There are many perks to businesses, including a boost in recruitment. As many people have become focused on ‘quality of life’ since Covid-19, a flexible work pattern is likely to increase talent attraction and employee retention. In fact, a survey conducted by Henley Business School at Reading University found that 68% of companies that offered a 4-day work week found that doing so helped them attract more talent for their vacancies.
Furthermore, productivity increases have been cited as another benefit, with employees being happier at work, boosting productivity, and having a more stable work-life balance. Alongside this, reductions in costs were also cited as a benefit, with a reduction in energy bills, water bills, food and office maintenance.
Employee well-being was also noted as being a perk, with an extra day of rest helping to prevent burnout and providing additional time for employees to manage their health. Employees were cited to be less likely to take sick leave by having more time to rest. The 4-day work week has also been highlighted as reducing companies’ environmental impact and may help companies reduce their carbon footprint.
The downsides to the four-day work week include that this format of working is not necessarily suitable for all organisations. Industries such as hospitality, transport, and care often require 7-days a week, and a four-day work week may be impractical and would lead to staff shortages. Furthermore, many organisations express concern that customer satisfaction should they switch to a four-day work week. While technology can support this and mitigate some of the risk, it is not able to support all companies. Additionally, productivity may decrease should a business try to match the productivity of a 5-day work week during a 4-day work week. This may create extra pressure on employees with a drop in quality.
The 4-Day Week in Local Authorities
It was reported in 2025 that South Cambridgeshire District Council(SCDC) had opted to become the first UK Council to permanently adopt a 4-day work week. This came after rigorous independent analysis showed that a majority of the provided services were either maintained or saw significant improvements in employee recruitment and retention.
The 4-day work week adopted by SCDC is modelled to a format where the staff deliver 100% of the work in 80% of the time for 100% of the pay. SCDC have also stated that their officers have been asked not to take on any additional paid work during their scheduled rest day.
The council announced to their residents that the primary reasons for their adoption of this framework include:
- Attract and retain talented colleagues in a competitive market.
- Improving services by filling vacant positions permanently, in place of hiring expensive agency staff.
- Cost reductions from reducing agency worker needs and permanent vacancy filling.
SCDC also announced they had made a yearly saving of £399,263 from adjusting to a 4-day week and switching from agency to permanent staff.
Furthermore, in July 2025, SCDC announced that 21 of their 24 services improved or delivered the same results from this adjustment in working. The areas that saw the most improvements included:
- Calls answered by the Contact Centre.
- The number of days taken to update Council Tax Support and Housing Benefit claims.
- The number of weeks for householder planning applications to be decided.
- The quantity of planning applications (large and small) decided within agreed timescales.
- The percentage of Council house repairs completed within 24 hours.
- The number of complaints responded to on time.
A statement provided by SCDC regarding the productivity increase occurring from a shift from 5-day to 4-day working, highlights the real difference and where the productivity stems from:
“Some people think we should be able to be as productive over five days as we are over four. This is a bit like saying people running a marathon should run at the same speed as people running a sprint race – we know that’s not physically possible. It’s the same with a four-day work week. The key for us is that all of the work is delivered in 80% of the time. People feel more committed, and so their motivation is greater.”
Council Staff Experience
The number of vacancy applications for SCDC rose by more than 120% during their 4-day week trial period. Before this, only 8 in 10 jobs that were advertised would be filled, and occasionally only 5 out of 10. Would be filled. Additionally, the number of workers leaving the organisation fell by more than 40% – helping to provide benefits to the communities through greater stability in the local authority’s services.
The introduction of this working format has also seen more staff say that they intend to continue working for the council. This is a critical factor in job satisfaction, and for the council in reducing turnover and vacancy rates.
The Overall Impact
SCDC originally ran a 3-month trial period for a 4-day work week in 2023 to help ease acute recruitment and retention challenges; however, this was later extended to a year. After this, a public consultation was held to determine the next steps.
A survey of resident perceptions showed there had been no statistically significant difference in the resident experience of 9 core services, although there was a decrease in three services elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the adoption of the 4-day work week has been noted to have other, less obvious perks. An independent research case conducted by Cambridge University showed how the 4-day work week benefited disabled colleagues, including those with medical conditions and carers. This highlights that this format of working may have benefits in workforce accessibility. The businesses that do choose to adopt this working framework may introduce disability friendly conditions that enhance job access to those who may otherwise have difficulty doing so.
The SCDC Lead Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr John Williams, states: “Since we introduced the 4-day week, the difference in recruitment and retention has been remarkable. We have seen job applications more than double, which means that we are attracting a much wider pool of talent. This means we are not constantly training people or relying on expensive agency workers. Our services are now more consistent, and in many cases, better, and we’re saving hundreds of thousands of pounds by reducing our dependence on external staffing.”
If you are a public sector organisation that has trialled a 4-day-week, we would love to hear your story. Let us know on LinkedIn IESE CIC.
To find out more, read the latest edition of The Public Catalyst here: https://issuu.com/iesecic/docs/iese_catalyst_magazine_issue-2
