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4 day work week

The 4 day work week

4 Day Work Week

Article posted by Charlotte Proudmore

Ready to work 4 days per week?

Four-day work weeks are all I seem to be hearing, reading, and speaking about at the moment across Cloud. Last week, I saw in the news that WANdisco is one of the first UK-listed software companies to adopt a four-day week for its staff. This seems to be a perfectly logical move to make following the software industry's leap to remote working over the last few years. When everyone said less time working would translate to decreased productivity, WANdisco themselves have seen that the opposite is true. Working from home and switching to a four-day working week has provided greater flexibility, increased business productivity, and boosted employee well-being.

​It's not just WANdisco who took this stance; Last week four digital businesses, Atom Bank, Yo Telecom, games developer Hutch and training provider MBL Seminars, committed to four-day working weeks too. It's great to see so many businesses making the change!

Recruiting and Retaining

So, what does this mean for recruiting? From our 2021 Software and DevOps Salary Guide, we saw that flexible working (including remote working) was by far the most important benefit to candidates in 2021. The trend continues in 2022 as cloud specialists now seek a four-day working week - I have had numerous software professionals enquiring about roles that specifically accommodate a four-day working week. The benefits don't stop there, though! Not only will businesses be able to attract new staff, but with higher employee morale, retention rates soar, which is crucial to ongoing projects throughout our industry where churn contributes to delays and overall business performance suffers.

Although some sectors may not benefit from a four-day workweek, is our industry a perfect fit? Is the 9-to-5 an outdated model now that the world of work has completely changed?! I'd love to hear your thoughts! You can find me over on Linkedin if you would like a catch-up!​