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Study: 61 UK firms tried a 4-day workweek and after a year, they still love it

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Re: Study: 61 UK firms tried a 4-day workweek and after a year, they still love it

#61

Post by CapeTheory »

nly wrote: post #48

Tech salaries aren't good enough in the UK to make this feasible for most of us.

Once you get into the top tax band, the 20% cut in base pay only corresponds to an ~8% cut in take-home pay - a pretty good deal as far as I'm concerned. The problem is that employers who pay this much tend to be large US companies and therefore not well equipped to deal with requests for flexible working. Fortunately the law here means that such requests can't be dismissed out of hand, but unfortunately that doesn't mean HR is obligated to make such requests easy for managers to go along with.

Re: Study: 61 UK firms tried a 4-day workweek and after a year, they still love it

#62

Post by FirmwareBurner »

jedberg wrote: post #60
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>But for knowledge work it makes a ton of sense. It's been repeatedly shown that knowledge workers are equally if not more productive at 32 hours a week vs 40 hours a week. But then why hasn't it become the norm already and even in some cases, like in Asia, people are forced to stay in the office way more hours than 40? If I take that research and show it to my boss saying I should work 32 hours/week instead of 40 fo…

For the same reason companies are forcing return to office -- control. They like to see their people working, it makes them feel like better managers.

I don't buy this.

I think my manager would also like to work just 32 hours/week instead of 40 for the same pay. So weh do we stop blaming them?

Re: Study: 61 UK firms tried a 4-day workweek and after a year, they still love it

#63

Post by bobthepanda »

sokoloff wrote: post #53
ActionHank wrote: post #6

I can't wait for companies to use this as a way to drive down pay

That seems reasonable. Take two equivalent companies, one that has a 4-day workweek and an otherwise identical one that has a 5-day workweek. Which one would you rather work for? Which one do you think will have a relative abundance of applicants (read: supply of labor)? Which other one do you think will have a lower supply of labor and might need to pay more to attract candidates? It seems logical that a company off…

Probably true. Today there are generally premiums for working weekends or nights.

Re: Study: 61 UK firms tried a 4-day workweek and after a year, they still love it

#64

Post by bobthepanda »

FirmwareBurner wrote: post #62
jedberg wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the same reason companies are forcing return to office -- control. They like to see their people working, it makes them feel like better managers.

I don't buy this. I think my manager would also like to work just 32 hours/week instead of 40 for the same pay. So weh do we stop blaming them?

His manager wants control too, and that goes all the way up the chain.

Re: Study: 61 UK firms tried a 4-day workweek and after a year, they still love it

#65

Post by FirmwareBurner »

jerf wrote: post #58
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The fact they already tried 5 days a week and it apparently didn't work. How didn't it work? Probably the devie you're typing this on was made by a person working 5 days/week, or way more if we're talking early iOS /Android devices.

I am speaking in the context of your own assumption in your post, that previously people were only doing 4 days of work in a 5 day week, so there's some option of getting people to work 5 days a week at the 4-day-a-week pace. Please don't equivocate on your own terminology for the purpose of hostilely misunderstanding my reply. If you're going to roll with "actually people have in fact been productively working 5 day…

I'm sorry, Your comment makes no sense to me.

Re: Study: 61 UK firms tried a 4-day workweek and after a year, they still love it

#66

Post by jedberg »

FirmwareBurner wrote: post #62
jedberg wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the same reason companies are forcing return to office -- control. They like to see their people working, it makes them feel like better managers.

I don't buy this. I think my manager would also like to work just 32 hours/week instead of 40 for the same pay. So weh do we stop blaming them?

I'm sure your manager does. They aren't the ones demanding 40 hours and return to office.

It's the C-suite that is doing it. The C-Suite got where they are because they are extroverts who excel at in person interactions. They can't use that skill unless you're there in front of them. They also came up in a world where everyone worked in an office 40 hours a week. And since they are in charge, they get to choose the rules of engagement, and are seemingly choosing to ignore productivity studies that show their decisions don't make sense.

Eventually they will be eclipsed by C-Suites that follow the science as they will get out-competed. But it will take decades.

Re: Study: 61 UK firms tried a 4-day workweek and after a year, they still love it

#68

Post by justsomehnguy »

sph wrote: post #23
elawler24 wrote: post #10

This is what Keynes predicted might happen - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecca.12439#... That article notes most people can't make enough money from 15 hours of work to save up for retirement. I also wonder if "leisure" has to be redefined, since work and life blend so much online. What does 15 hours of work really mean in a knowledge work job?

And many cannot save enough money for retirement on 40 hour a week either.

I see enough people with way more than 40h/w not being able to save the money.

Re: Study: 61 UK firms tried a 4-day workweek and after a year, they still love it

#69

Post by zooq_ai »

This study is a perfect fit the HN crowd who won't question the methodology and incentive systems because it fits their narrative.

Of course employee are going to report happy. What next? a study saying "Employees love more money for the same work?"

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