Work-life balance was the catchphrase of the Covid pandemic, as employers and workers reassessed the importance of workplace flexibility and benefits.
Technology was rolled out at the height of the pandemic to facilitate remote working. It’s now hard to imagine a world without flexible working.
Although about 4.7% of employed Brits worked from home before the pandemic, the number rose dramatically after the first lockdown.
These days, 40% say they work from home at least one day a week, according to ONS data.
Flexible working is now highly sought after by jobseekers. A survey by flexible workspace provider International Workplace Group (IWG) found that almost half (49%) of UK graduates said they would not apply for a job that did not offer hybrid working.
A further 18%, meanwhile, said they would need to seriously consider such a role.
Hybrid working was also considered as important as a competitive salary by more than half (54%) of those surveyed by IWG.
Many of the participants view it as equivalent to a 13% increase in salary, because of savings made on travel and housing.
The figure is higher elsewhere in Europe, where a four-day working week is gaining traction.
Scandinavia, Germany, Portugal, Belgium have all successfully trialed shorter working days in their respective countries.
In Iceland, where the world’s largest pilot of a 35- to 36-hour working week was conducted, the scheme was considered a success.
It led to a significant change in that country, with nearly 90% of the working population now having reduced hours.
Researchers found that worker stress and burnout lessened, and there was an improvement in life-work balance.
This might give an insight as to why the Scandinavians are always topping the list of the happiest people on earth.
Nearer home, there’s a growing campaign for shorter working days in the UK. Campaigners for the four-day working week have argued that it is a panacea for burnout.
They say in businesses where this scheme has been implemented, worker satisfaction and productivity increases.
Some businesses and local authorities have run four-day week trials, with the participants hailing the results as successful.
Last year, a pilot was undertaken involving 61 companies in the UK, ranging from small local businesses to large corporates with around 2,900 employees.
The participants saw their working week reduced from five days to four, with no associated loss of pay.
The results showed that the majority of companies saw their business performance and productivity maintained, with an average rise of 1.4% in revenue across the organisations.
And around 92% of them continued with the four-day week after the pilot ended, with 18 of those declaring the policy a permanent change.
Stress and burnout for employees were both reported to have significantly declined, with 71% of workers reporting lower levels of burnout.
According to researchers, reported levels of anxiety, fatigue and sleep issues decreased, while mental and physical health both experienced improvements.
Similar results were reported by South Cambridgeshire District Council, which became the first local authority in the UK to trial a four-day week.
On the advice front, Chancery Lane has adopted a four-day work week to help support those of it employees who are parents and grandparents.
In June, the firm announced that its employees will only be contracted to work from Monday to Thursday.
They will receive the same pay as they had previously.
“Our work is all centred on helping people to retire well. The advice and income security we deliver comes from empathy and expertise in equal measure,” said Chancery Lane founder Doug Brodie.
“Our four-day work week is intended to help our people to take family time, rather than to make family time.”
It worth noting that not all businesses have bought into the idea of flexible working.
Firms such as online retailer Amazon and Asda have issued back-to-office mandates to their workers.
In September, Amazon announced that it was summoning its workers back to the office five days a week from the new year. They argued that the office space foster collaboration and creativity.
This is the latest tussle in the post-Covid showdown between employers and employees.
But for now, the pendulum is swinging firmly in the employee’s direction.
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