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Jeremy Fennema – Tech Innovation Alchemist
Edinburgh-based food and drink marketing agency Lux decided to test a four-day working week back in January 2020.
To keep up with client workloads, Lux implemented an alternate shift pattern with some employees working Monday to Thursday, while others worked Tuesday to Friday.
Since the agency first started the trial, Lux’s profits rose 30%, while productivity was up 24%. Lux used time-tracking software to measure productivity which found that despite employees working fewer hours, the company was actually making more profit.
Big-name companies have also conducted smaller four-day week trials, with consumer goods giant Unilever testing it out in New Zealand and Microsoft trying it in Japan.
Not only is the shortened work-week beneficial for employee wellness and company productivity, but according to a report published in May 2021 by the 4 Day Week campaign alongside the environmental and social justice collective Platform London, it found that shifting to a four-day week by 2025 could slash the U.K.‘s annual carbon footprint by 127 metric tons.
Joe O’Connor, CEO of the 4 Day Week Global organization, said that in sectors such as technology, finance and some parts of professional services, momentum behind this working model was such that he could see it going from an ambition to the norm “really quickly, even in the space of two to three years.”
