The pandemic has shifted the way we think about work and it looks as though employers are following suit.
They realise that the normal 9-5 office life doesn't fit anymore and certainly won't help to recruit or keep staff.
And while the shift to remote working has embedded itself via necessity - what about other flexible ways of working too. Is the five day 9-5 the way to get the best from employees? Come to think about it, has it ever been?
So why are we still so wedded to the idea and what's the alternative? We've gathered expertise from business bosses who are breaking the mould and a lawyer who has given us the rights and wrongs. Here's what they told us.
Does your employer have to allow you a four-day week?
Employees are entitled to request a change to the number of hours they work, when and where they do those hours and employers are obliged to consider a flexible working request from an employee if they have at least 26 weeks continuous service and they have not made another request in the previous 12 months, explains James Twine, partner at Wolferstans in Plymouth.
Mr Twine explained: "As has always been the case, employers can only turn down a request for one of eight permitted reasons:
- The burden of additional costs.
- Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand.
- Inability to reorganise work among existing staff.
- Inability to recruit additional staff.
- Detrimental impact on quality.
- Detrimental impact on performance.
- Insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work.
- Planned structural changes.
"The reality is, if an employer has a genuine reason for turning down a request it will fit into one of the permitted exceptions. The difficulty comes of course with some of the potentially more subjective reasons such as impact on quality or performance, but we are seeing a shift of culture from “how can I turn down this request” to “how do we ensure we can accommodate this request” and employers who fail to embrace this change risk falling behind when it comes to recruiting talent and having a motivated workforce.
"Of course, not all requests can be accommodated, and there will be plenty of times where requests are rejected or negotiated because the law still provides for the needs of the business to come first.”
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How do you go about asking?
Trevor Worth, founder of Portcullis Legals in Plymouth made global headlines when he introduced a four-day week in 2019.
An advocate for the benefits in terms of wellbeing and productivity, he said that employees should start a conversation with their boss by being honest about what they would like in an ideal world.
He said: "Employees should describe what is good for them as individuals but also what is good for the business itself. Make sure they approach their employers with an evidence based discussion and strategy as to how this would work better for the firm in terms of maybe productivity, team morale, innovation, energy and where possible, any cost savings.
"Also discuss where it would be great for the individual in terms of mental health, collaboration and definitely effectiveness. Think from the employer's perspective as well as your own."
Can it work for my business?
Mr Worth said that employers first need to take off any blinkers and be willing to participate in debate.
He said: "In large firms maybe create a four-day week leadership team to research the options and bring back their findings. It engages employees and helps make the decision making process more collaborative.
"Each business and sector will have their own demands and needs to work effectively and it just comes down to whether it can work for each firm. Balance up the health benefits, morale and the cliched work life balance for their team and any potential costs or savings, as well as considering the logistics of who will work and when and then take an informed position on it.
"I'd also encourage employers to reach out to business owners that have already crossed the rubicon. I'd be happy to help. The most critical aspect to all of this four-day week process is to involve and include the employees on the decision journey, whatever the eventual outcome may be."
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Who else is doing it?
Big name employers like Zurich and Unilever have adopted the four-day week alongside other flexi-working patterns to encourage diversity in the workplace.
Smaller companies are trialling it too with some going even further on the alternative working model.
Energy retailer Love Energy Savings is allowing staff to set their own working hours as well as letting them work from any location of their choosing.
Introduced in response to the changing nature of the workplace post-Covid, the policy dubbed “Flexible-Flexible” has been implemented as the business, based in Bolton, Greater Manchester, seeks to double the headcount in its customer nurture team.
Chief Executive Phil Foster said: “The rigid pattern of nine to five, Monday to Friday is no longer fit for purpose particularly when you have childcare commitments.
“Now parents can easily schedule their hours around school drop-off and pick-up. It also gives colleagues the chance to visit the gym during the day and catch up with life admin."
Mr Foster hopes the policy will ensure the business retains talented individuals for whom conventional hours just aren’t practical.
He said: "Like many other businesses, at the outbreak of the pandemic, we were nervous about the potential home-working would have. But we saw no downturn whatsoever. And that provided us with all the evidence we required to go full steam ahead with the Flexible-Flexible policy."
And wellbeing has shot up. One staff member has even been able to up sticks to fulfil a lifelong dream.
Business Development Executive Andrea Such, 50 bid farewell to Bolton, where she has lived for three decades, and moved to the picturesque village of Cleator near Whitehaven, on the Cumbrian coastline alongside her partner and son.
Re-thinking the old working patterns are part of a wider cultural shift, accelerated by the pandemic, said Mr Twine.
He said: "The right to request flexible working has been around for a number of years, but during 2014, the process was simplified and became less prescriptive. Having an open mind, or even encouraging flexible working can have huge advantages to employers when it comes to for example the ability to recruit, particularly from outside of area, but also for the wellbeing and motivation of their staff.
"The pandemic has seen a huge shift in thinking which has effectively fast-forwarded where the world was heading in any event. Many employers were already ahead of the game and embraced flexible working before any of us had heard of Covid-19, lockdown, furlough or being pinged, but I have witnessed a huge swing from employers who previously would have been reluctant to permit home working, condensed or reduced hours to a culture where such arrangements are actively encouraged.
"We are even seeing employers insisting that employees only attend their place of work for a limited number of days so that offices and buildings can be sold and savings can be made."
What's in the detail?
Mr Foster said his flexible-flexible policy allows more of his staff to be available outside of key business hours when his customers want to get in contact.
But it is about getting the planning right to make sure enough staff are available.
He explained that staff remain required to fulfill their contracted hours.
He said: "We continually monitor levels of demand 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide us with a really accurate picture of when resource can best be deployed.
"This information is shared with all our Business Development Executives which allows them to make the most informed decisions on what hours to work."
If you operate a four-day working week or have introduced less conventional working patterns, we'd like to hear from you. Contact Hannah Finch, Audience Editor hannah.finch@reachplc.com
