Hove business makes four-day week trial permanent

A Hove business which took part in the world’s biggest trial of a four-day working week says it has “worked across the board” for them.

5 Squirrels, a Brighton-based skincare company, was one of 61 companies taking part in the trial, the vast majority of which say they will continue.

Gary Conroy, the firm’s chief executive, told the PA news agency the move – in which staff were expected to do as much work in shorter hours for the same pay – significantly increased productivity across the team.

He said: “We’re trying to run a profitable, productive company and we believe that one of the ways of doing that is by having higher employee engagement and happier members of staff who are not burnt out the whole time and have a good quality of life outside work.

“We can get a lot more done in less time, meaning that we are then free to have more time off.”

Mr Conroy said the company, based in Conway Street, introduced “deep work” time to help with productivity, where staff dedicate two-hour periods to work without emails or messages to distract them.

It also cut meetings back to a bare minimum, and ensured any that do get scheduled were limited to 30 minutes and at certain time periods.

He said: “What we found actually was that projects didn’t take nearly as long as we thought they would, because it was the disruption and distraction that was stretching out the length of time the project would take.”

Mr Conroy said 5 Squirrels, which has a total of 15 employees, would be keeping to its four-day working week going forward.

He said: “Our productivity is up, our profitability is up, our sales are up, our output is up, you know, in less time.

“So why would you go back to dragging it out into another day? It’s really counterintuitive.”

Alistair Dickson, a graphic designer company, had a young baby when the firm decided to take part in the pilot.

He told PA: “Having one less day at work is obviously going to be quite popular. But for me personally it was a good time in my life being that we had just had a baby.

“It meant I could spend more time at home helping my wife with the baby rather than constantly working.”

He said it is “quite rewarding” to know you can “still be productive but have that extra day off”.

The findings of the pilot scheme were presented to MPs on Tuesday as campaigners urge lawmakers to give every British worker a 32-hour working week.

At least 56 out of the 61 firms that took part said they plan to continue with the four-day working week, while 18 firms confirmed the policy has become a permanent change.

Just three companies said they have paused the four-day working week in their organisation for the time being.

Academics at the University of Cambridge and the US’s Boston College carried out the research, and the trial was co-ordinated by not-for-profit organisation 4 Day Week Global, in partnership with think tank Autonomy and campaign group 4 Day Week Campaign.

The results revealed a significant drop in the rates of stress and illness among the approximately 2,900 staff trying a shorter working week.

Around 39% of employees said they were less stressed compared with the start of the trial, and the number of sick days taken during the trial dropped by around two thirds.

People were much more likely to stay in their jobs, despite the trial taking place amid the “great resignation” period where workers have been quitting at record rates in search of greater flexibility, the report said.

There was a 57% drop in the number of staff leaving the participating companies compared with the same period the previous year.

And levels of anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and burnout decreased substantially, while more staff reported that balancing care responsibilities had become easier.

The results even found that company revenue increased slightly by 1.4% on average over the trial period, and by a much higher 35% when compared to the same six-month period in 2021.

However, several staff at one large company reported concerns about increasing workloads, finding their work intensified or they were battling to work through lengthy to-do lists in the time available.

The results also revealed that some managers and staff felt the focus on efficiency had made the workplace less sociable, which was a particular concern for the creative companies involved.