Work-life balance | The reality of the four-day week and its applicability in the workplace

The four-day working week is a solution for the privileged few rather than a mainstream game-changer, argues Crown Workforce Management’s Neville Henderson, who questions if it’s right to focus on such a narrow approach as a panacea for all flexible working requirements.

Much of the talk about the four-day working week is not new, and only a couple of years ago we were told trials of a four-day week in Iceland were an 'overwhelming success'.

Now we are told by The 4 Day Week Campaign that it is now ‘surely the time…to begin rolling it out across the country’, but I don’t believe that is true and it is too blunt to suggest it is a one-size fits all approach for all.

The UK trial organised by campaign group 4 Day Week Global has been everywhere in the press and their findings are impressive – 92 per cent of companies that took part in the trial (56 of 61) are extending it, staff retention increased, revenue increased, and staff were less stressed and had a better work-life balance.