We tried a 4-day work week as a company and here is what we found
Written by David Simpson, Founder and Managing Director at Melbourne HR
The 3-day weekend is something that full time workers dream of, and usually only attainable when there is a public holiday on a Monday or Friday.
Imagine if it became the norm. The idea of a 4-day work week sounds appealing for an employee, but how would it affect your business? Despite the decrease in work hours, could it possibly be a way to improve productivity?
The team and I at Melbourne HR decided to test it out and see if it was truly beneficial.
Continue reading as we unravel:
How we implemented the 4-day work week (our situation and structure)
Why we decided to do it
The potential risks and wins
What I (as a business owner) think
What our clients think
What our employees think
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Situation and Structure
Melbourne HR has been running a 4-day work week for the last 3 months.
We work Tuesday through Friday inclusive. We start work at 7:30am and finish at 5:15pm. With breaks, this equates to 36 hours of work per week.
We decided to break each day down into 3 'sprints'. Each of these sprints was 3 hours long and was broken up by an unpaid break/lunch. That's 9 hours a day, 4 days a week, which results in 36 hours of work.
Why did we decide to implement the 4-day work week?
In February of 2022, a client broached the subject of a 4-day week during a meeting and a staff member who was present (half) jokingly said that we should try it.
Joking or not, this idea had been circulating in my head for quite some time and due to COVID-19, we had changed the way we did business permanently.
These changes meant that a lot of the barriers to this idea had been removed or mitigated. I pitched it to the staff as a loose and ill-defined concept. The interest from staff was very high and we started planning right away on how to execute this idea.
An executable plan was our first challenge and considerable time, and energy was placed in getting the details right.
The final plan was to test this over a 6-week period and assess its success during and after. We set a start time about a month and a half out.
Our to do list:
We needed to inform clients
Change our weekly schedules
Modify our employee contracts
Of course, there was a lot more detail to this, but this was the basics. We decided on a structure and regime which is outlined above. A heavy emphasis was placed on client communication, even providing the team phrases, anecdotes, and ways to frame the discussion with critical third parties.
Risks and Wins
Potential Loss of Business
The first risk was that our clients would not like the new schedule and that we would lose business. We were certain that we could deliver the service at the same standard, but perceptions are important. There was a period of adjustment and a small number of clients had some doubts, however all clients were successfully transitioned, and no loss of business was incurred. This was a clear win.
Early Starts
Another risk was centred around the early starts. Our biggest concern was that most clients didn’t start their workday until 9.00am, so the first 1.5 hours of our day wouldn’t be client-facing and therefore not as useful.
What we found was the contrary. Being able to get a 'headstart' on the day without interruption has been a great advantage to the team. This period of work is truly interruption free. This was another huge win.
We also had a small group of clients who had early start times due to the nature of their industry. These clients were excited to have us come onsite or conduct meetings at 7:30am in the morning. This was an unexpected benefit, niche, but it has led to some great outcomes.
Public Holidays and Time Returned
Why did we choose Monday as the day off? This was done due to our company's previous weekly cadence. We noticed that Monday was our quietest day for emails and requests from clients, so we decided that this would be the safest bet. This had another positive consequence that was initially not thought of. Most public holidays occur on a Monday.
Thanks to the way we structured the contracts, it meant that this time was recouped on the 36 hour a week. Approximately 38 hours per year or 45 minutes a week. Reducing lost working hours from 2 hours to 1.25 hours per week on average.
Productivity
A productivity increase was one of the goals of this test. I decreased the number of hours worked each week and therefore wanted a portion of that returned in improved productivity from happier and harder working employees. Employee engagement is hard to test in the work that we do, however I can see that thanks to linking this change to productivity and taking on a much more regimented approach to the workflows, we appear to have seen stronger output from my perspective as the Managing Director.
Cadence and Personal Impact
There was a concern that this type of schedule would not be suitable for employees with very young or school age children. We have a young team, so this couldn't be practically tested, but I can say that our theoretical assessment is negative on this front. I can't see parents, particularly with very young kids, being able to utilise this work schedule without a dedicated primary caregiver at home or serious modification to the schedule and those changes may negate some, or all, of the other benefits on this list.
Sleep and breaks also become paramount. Due to longer days, it was vitally important that productivity be maintained throughout the extended hours. Part of the reason for testing this regime was to see whether the improved work-life balance for staff lead to an increase in productivity.
To facilitate this research, we increased the number of unpaid breaks in the day. These breaks broke up the day and allowed staff to partially recharge before tackling the next 'sprint'. Sleep also becomes important. Poor sleep leading into the work week had an increased effect on staff (due to the longer days) and this effect persisted across the entire day.
Regimented workflows is another important topic. We spoke briefly above about sprints. We decided to make this the underlying 'unit' of our workflow and assigned each of these sprints with either discrete work or an overarching type of work. This aided staff regarding prioritisation and lets us gauge the workload of staff members across the week. This is in addition to the segmentation of work for the purpose of breaks as described above.
This has been another area of significant wins. This 'sprint' unit is in fact the basis of our week. Rather than going from 5 days to 4. We went from 5 days to 12 sprints. The number of days these sprints are spread across could be viewed as less relevant.
What do I think as a business owner?
At first, I was very stressed. Leading into it was a huge change and it felt like a big risk and genuine challenge for the company to overcome, but I was determined to try new things. My confidence in the new work week grew quickly and a big part of that was my team who were just as keen for this to work as I was.
We were making small adjustments on the fly and they were actively participating in the development of those changes. The speed at which my confidence grew was in huge part to do with the very low level of push back from clients and the ease by which they transitioned into the new regime.
Now?
It's become normal. We are a little over 3 months in and it is a part of a positive routine. we are performing well; the business is expanding and we have no plans to revert to a 5-day week. I like it, my clients are supportive, and my staff enjoy it. There are no reasons for us to revert.
If you haven't noticed already then it would be remiss of me to not mention that this isn't the 4-day as you will see portrayed in the majority of the media. We built our model to be a balance of pro-employee and pro-business perspectives; however, at its heart it had to deliver on commercial imperatives. It has done all of that and I think the model we made is better for MHR and it has proven this over the medium-term.
What do clients think?
In terms of our client relationship management, we have discussed it with them on multiple occasions and the answer has always been the same.
“We barely notice the difference”
Now that's not to say a client hasn't wanted to talk to us on a Monday. It just means that over the long term, the impact on our clients has been negligible and they remain happy.
What do our employees think?
Rather than tell here a few excerpts from our employees:
“Having an extra day for yourself to relax helps me to be more productive at work, even with the longer hours.”
“It allows me to be more productive on Friday because I know I have 3 days off to rest and rejuvenate.”
“We recommend it to other workplaces, especially if your industry and business model allows for it”
“Our daily sprints allow us to structure our days so we can maximise our productivity within the four days”
Will we continue it?
Absolutely, I think this has been a huge achievement. There is no reason to revert back.
What have we learned from this?
The Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm structure is just one option. It should not be the only one and it shouldn't even be the default, nor should it be tossed away. Companies need to consider and explore alternatives. Iteration on the working week is important.
Do I recommend it?
If your business model allows for it and your staff support it, then yes, I definitely would recommend it. It is important to note that we built our model from the ground up specifically for our company.
Being a HR consulting firm with a strong commercial focus, we were naturally positioned to sculpt something bespoke, whilst avoiding pitfalls and maximising its benefits. It is really important to do your homework. it is also imperative that you constantly communicate with your staff as you go through development.
You need to search for problems before they happen and solve them before they arise. If you don't have strong structural, planning and communications capability then seek support. Plan a lot and execute carefully. I think a smooth process made all the difference.
Upon reflection, the implementation of a 4-day work week may sound like it’s just an idea that is too good to be true. But when complemented with the right business model, industry, thorough communication with staff/clients and a strong structured plan; the 4-day work week becomes a reality which brings great rewards.
Regardless of whether you decide to implement a 4-day work week for your business, remember to take the time to plan and implement a strategy that will improve overall productivity and employee engagement.
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David Simpson is the Founder and Managing Director at Melbourne HR.
Edited by Toby Pronstroller, Digital Marketing Coordinator at Melbourne HR.
