We've all seen (and probably been part of) conversations around the 4-day working week.
Whether you're a supporter or sceptic, it's a discussion that is not going away anytime soon.
For me personally, I can’t imagine going back to the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, because of the ways that this shift has transformed my life and my approach to work.
Background
I began working 4 days in 2021 when I was recovering from a hand / arm injury. Luckily for me, my employer supported me to find a working pattern that best suited my recovery. I played around with a few variations and settled on taking Wednesdays off.
When moving jobs in 2022 I was hugely drawn to Tailored Thinking as a 4-day week employer. I had considered the possibility of extending my weekend by taking Fridays or Mondays off, but decided to stick with Wednesdays.
Guess what? I love Wednesdays!
How I spend my days off
Because Wednesdays began for me as time for self-care, I am determined to keep it this way.
However I felt a degree of pressure and expectation (from myself) around how to spend this new block of time I had been granted, so I gave myself some “Wednesday rules”:
Relax - it’s OK to spend time relaxing. This will mean different things on different days but the point is that you don’t have to be “productive” all the time.
Move - do at least one bit of exercise, anything from walking to weights. There’s no excuse not to, and you’ll feel better for it.
Connect - catch up with people who you haven’t spoken to for a while. The cafes are emptier mid-week. Walking calls are even better.
Indulge - fill your time doing things that bring you joy. Again no guilt, this is self-care.
Reflect - think about how you are spending your time. It’s OK for this to change but don’t look back and feel it was wasted.
Benefits
You can’t get me to shut up about the difference working 4 days has made to my working life, and how I’ve been able to craft my work around it.
Some of the takeaways:
I have more energy at work. I allow myself a lie-in on Wednesdays and this helps me re-charge for the rest of the week. No more hump day!
I don’t allow work to take over. I only ever work two days before taking a break, and this means I don’t feel burned out, or like I’m back to back with no cooling off. Clients respect my working pattern so I never feel pressure to be working when I’m off.
It allows for more space. Sometimes I’ll be flexible with my time, or swap my days (for work or personal reasons), since I have the time to play with.
I can think about work without being at work. Most of the content I engage with at work is content I find genuinely interesting, but it’s nice to be able to listen to a podcast with no emails pinging, or reflect on how an important meeting went without any distractions.
Team Tailored Thinking
At Tailored Thinking we all work a different 4 day week, and choose to spend our time in ways that best suit us. Chloe chooses to take Friday’s off to recharge and see her family. Rob has Monday’s off to look after his daughter Evie. The one thing that connects us is that we all recognise the benefits for ourselves personally as well as for the organisation and our clients.
Challenges
Of course adopting a 4-day week in organisations doesn’t come without challenges. For example, there are only typically one or two days in a week that our whole team is available. Our solution is to be organised and plan ahead - using our time together in the most productive and efficient way.
As we all eagerly await the outcomes from the world’s biggest trial of the 4-day working week, we’d love to know how you would craft your role if you had an extra day off.
Or if your company already adopts a 4-day week, let us know how you spend your time!
Charlotte is the lead people scientist at Tailored Thinking and is passionate about making work better for everyone. Charlotte has a first class masters degree in Occupational Psychology and enjoys understanding what meaningful work looks like and feels like for different people.
