4 day week

Leo

Leo

Well-known member
being self employed, I probably work a five-day/9-to-5 work week two or three times a year. "Summer Friday" stretches through all seasons, except for when they're switched out for a Thursday off. Just as productive, and much more civilized.
 
V

version

Well-known member
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has emerged as a key influence behind ministerial attempts in the last week to try to shut down the first public sector trial of a shorter working week at South Cambridgeshire district council (SCDC).

[...]

The TPA, which claims to be a grassroots organisation and is part of a global alliance of free-market advocacy groups known as the Atlas Network, is running a “Stop the clock off” campaign against the four-day week.
 
Slothrop

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
version said:
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has emerged as a key influence behind ministerial attempts in the last week to try to shut down the first public sector trial of a shorter working week at South Cambridgeshire district council (SCDC).

[...]

The TPA, which claims to be a grassroots organisation and is part of a global alliance of free-market advocacy groups known as the Atlas Network, is running a “Stop the clock off” campaign against the four-day week.
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It feels increasingly hard to argue that the current government are interested in anything other than appealing to bitter pensioners who don't like the idea of young people having nice things.
 
V

version

Well-known member
With that lot in particular there's something more to it as they're a mouthpiece for American extremists.
 
WashYourHands

WashYourHands

Cat Malogen
Four days is possible but would have to cover 16 hours for each day, the norm in many ways. Any ‘overtime’ is where certain orgs contracted to might ruffle their feathers relying on grants as a significant % of expenditure, despite the fact you do the hours regardless or are interminably on-call

During parts of the summer 2020 into second lockdown into the whole of 2021 switched roles with a colleague. 4 days on, 2 off, between days and nights and the worst of both worlds as each bled into the other. It isn’t that colleagues are inefficient in any sense, more everyone is always (always) playing catch up and will be asked to do more with less. More fatigue, more mistakes and errors

Given how few project managers bother with drug work, the distinct unlikelihood their beautifully crafted task sequencing Biscuitsesque flow graphs will take hold, given how chaotic clinics are, a 4 day week could be a godsend of efficiency if tailored to quite unique circumstances and people. Better ask ChatWTF for an insight
 
mixed_biscuits

mixed_biscuits

_________________________
Whatever next? 70-minute football match? 2-minute boiled egg? 90 metre 100 metre race? Wimbledon ends at the quarters with 8 winners? Headless cats?

This will result in lower pay and even lower perceived income because people have to fill more leisure time.
 
V

version

Well-known member
The Tories are desperate to stop councils even experimenting with it:

Government guidance issued on Thursday said councils that have adopted four-day weeks should end the practice immediately, while any authorities planning to embrace it in future should stop any trials immediately.

The guidance appears to be the latest salvo in a war of words between the government and South Cambridgeshire district council, which is believed to be the only English authority so far to have experimented with a four-day week.

The council has said its continuing trial of the practice, in which office staff and bin collectors are paid the same for working 20% fewer hours, has already helped it improve recruitment and led to over £500,000 in savings on agency workers.
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guardian.com/business/2023/oct/26/ministers-warn-councils-not-to-adopt-four-day-working-weeks
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Well that's the end of that...

Councils pursuing a four-day working week are not providing value for taxpayers and should "cease immediately", the government has said.

The first local authority to trial the pattern was South Cambridgeshire District Council, which said it helped to improve recruitment and retention.
But the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said the scheme should not be adopted elsewhere.

The Cambridgeshire council said its offices remained "open 5 days a week".
The Liberal Democrat-run local authority started a three-month trial in January for the 450 desk-based staff at its office in Cambourne.

This pilot involved them working a 30-hour week over four days before it was expanded to include waste crews in July.
Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, Bridget Smith, said the initial trial "saw performance generally maintained, and in some cases improved - with not a single area falling to a concerning level".

She said "strong evidence" suggested the new work pattern helped "fill hard to recruit posts", saving money by avoiding paying high numbers of agency staff.
"Since January, our sickness rates have fallen by a third, staff turnover has reduced by 36%, and complaints about services are down," she added.

The council announced in September it would extend the trial until March 2024, despite ministers previously ordering officials to end it.
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...or is it?

www.bbc.com

Government says four-day working weeks should 'cease immediately'

Councils pursuing a four-day working week are "on notice", says the government.
www.bbc.com

Edit: I see I'm late with this.

But it tells you everything you need to know about this government that they want councils to end it even though it's made things better for their staff and the public who use their services.
 
V

version

Well-known member
They're being sneaky with 'most' here, but still...

Most of the UK companies that took part in the world’s biggest ever four-day working week trial have made the policy permanent, research shows. Of the 61 organisations that took part in a six-month UK pilot in 2022, 54 (89%) are still operating the policy a year later, and 31 (51%) have made the change permanent.

More than half (55%) of project managers and CEOs said a four-day week – in which staff worked 100% of their output in 80% of their time – had a positive impact on their organisation, the report found.

For 82% this included positive effects on staff wellbeing, 50% found it reduced staff turnover, while 32% said it improved job recruitment. Nearly half (46%) said working and productivity improved.
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