Rob Scott
Once dismissed as a utopian dream, the four-day work week is becoming increasingly common – particularly in the UK, and among major tech brands (like Kickstarter). In 2025, two hundred UK companies signed up for a permanent four-day work week, and various other businesses are following suit. Why? Because shorter weeks actually deliver better business results.
It’s not just about enhancing work-life balance, or embracing new flexible working trends. The four-day work week encourages staff to accomplish more with less, cutting operational costs, banishing burnout, and igniting creativity. Studies even show that a compressed work week can lead to a 25% increase in revenue, and a 32% reduction in employee turnover.
But there are hurdles to overcome. We all remember how difficult it was to transition to remote and hybrid work for the first time during the pandemic. Moving to a four-day work week can be tricky too. The good news? All you need is the right strategy.
Since we’ve already successfully implemented the four day work week ourselves – we’re here to share our secret playbook and productivity tips with you, so you can side-step the challenges, and revolutionize work, once and for all. Let’s dive in.
Why the Four-Day Work Week is a Game Changer
We know what you’re thinking – surely fewer hours in the office means less productivity right? Wrong. The truth is that Fridays are dead weight.
By noon, half the office is doom-scrolling, the other half is in a meeting that could’ve been a Slack message, and your team’s creative neurons have already shifted into weekend mode. Studies prove it – productivity actually drops to its lowest point on Friday afternoons.
It’s not just a drop in overall productivity that creates problems – employee satisfaction suffers. 42% of companies clinging to a 5-day work week saw higher attrition rates in 2023, while companies with compressed work weeks benefitted from happier, more engaged teams.
In fact, Microsoft Japan saw a 40% boost in productivity when they switched to the four-day work week, and companies across Iceland found burnout issues significantly reduced with a compressed work week.
That comment on burnout is important, particularly when around 63% of employees are suffering from exhaustion (84% for Gen Z). You could even be losing out on top talent by avoiding flexibility, as 62% of workers say a four-day work week is one of the top benefits they search for.
The reality is that fewer days at work doesn’t mean that less work gets done. It means that teams use their time more efficiently, preserve their energy and creativity, and focus more effectively.
If you’re still making your team suffer through useless Fridays – don’t be surprised when they start looking for a company that’s willing to evolve.
Challenges of the Four-Day Work Week
Taking a new approach to nurturing work-life balance for employees isn’t easy. We’ve been doing it for a over a year now – and even we faced some challenges at first, despite the fact that we already embraced a fully remote working model. There are challenges to consider, such as:
No One-Size Fits-All Strategy
For industries that require constant coverage – think healthcare, emergency services, or customer support – a four-day workweek can be a logistical nightmare. Ensuring that someone is always available for clients or patients might mean staggering employee days off, which can lead to scheduling headaches and potential burnout.
We had to handle this issue ourselves, since our team members are responsible for supporting a wide range of clients across time zones.
Potential for Longer Days and Resistance
To maintain the same level of productivity in fewer days, employees might end up working longer hours each day. This can disrupt daily routines, increase stress, and ironically, lead to the very burnout the four-day week aims to reduce.
Even if you manage to reduce working hours for your teams using the tips we’re sharing below, managing change can be tough. Implementing a four-day workweek requires a shift in mindset, and not everyone will be on board immediately. There might be internal resistance, especially from leadership concerned about potential dips in productivity.
Team Coordination Chaos
Chances are you’ll need to adjust schedules so someone is always available in your team to handle critical tasks, which means that not everyone will be off the same day. This leads to some scheduling issues – fostering team collaboration and arranging meetings can be challenging.
Sometime, the initial implementation of a four-day work week can lead to more upfront work for managers and team leads, since they’re responsible for ensuring everything actually gets done on time – according to deadlines.
Implementing the Four-Day Work Week: Tips for Success
Obviously, implementing the four-day work week has its challenges – that’s probably why numerous companies in the UK cancelled their four-day initiative after a trial, even though 100% said that it led to positive results. The good news? We have the flexible working tips you need to make your strategy a success. Here’s what you need to master.
Adapting Your Work Style for a Four-Day Work Week
Ok, let’s start with the basics. Transitioning to a four-day work week doesn’t mean cramming five days of tasks into four. It’s about working smarter, not harder. That kind of shift requires a significant change in strategy and mindset.
Here’s how we manage flexible working seamlessly at Today Digital:
Setting Clear Objectives
Start by implementing Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to align your efforts with company goals. Goal setting is notoriously valuable. It helps with work planning, time management, and keeping your teams on the same page. Making sure your team members know what they should be focusing on and prioritizing – like lead generation, or a specific project, ensures they start each day on the right foot.
Prioritize Like a Pro
With less time, prioritization becomes crucial. Adopt methods like the Eisenhower Matrix, which categorizes tasks into four quadrants:
- Urgent and Important: Do these tasks immediately.
- Important but Not Urgent: Schedule these tasks.
- Urgent but Not Important: Consider delegation.
- Neither Urgent nor Important: Forget these tasks.
This approach ensures you’re tackling tasks that align with your goals and deadlines.
Optimize Meeting Schedules
Meetings can be productivity killers. We still have meetings regularly here at Today Digital – just like you. However, we minimize unnecessary gatherings by implementing strict agendas and time limits. Tools like shared calendars and project management software help keep everyone aligned without the need for constant check-ins.
Adopt Time Blocking
Allocate specific time slots for different activities. For example, dedicate mornings to deep work and afternoons to collaborative tasks. For instance, our Growth Marketing Manager, Emily Targett, devotes her mornings to connecting with teams and assigning priorities. This way, she can devote her time and energy later in the day to crucial tasks.
Focus on Continuous Improvement
Work planning should be a dynamic process, as team members embrace new productivity techniques, and time management methods. As you continue to embrace the four-day work week, assess what’s working and seek feedback. Our teams hold brief weekly retrospectives to discuss what worked and what didn’t, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Creating Your Ideal Workspace for the Four-Day Work Week
Creating the perfect workspace in today’s hybrid working world is like crafting your personal productivity haven. Whether you’re dialing in from home or collaborating in a shared office, setting up an environment that fuels efficiency and keeps team connections strong is key.
Not everyone benefits from the same remote work setup, and if you’re still maintaining physical work spaces, you still need to consider things like office ergonomics, and fostering collaboration.
Nailing the Remote Work Setup
Team members working from home (even occasionally) – shouldn’t be working from the sofa. Employees need more than just a space to park their laptop.
They need an environment that tells their brain it’s time to work. Make sure your employees have dedicated spaces – separate from the distractions of home, and equipped with the right tech and internet connections.
Mastering Office Ergonomics
A great workspace for the four-day work week should give employees more than just the tools and resources they need for things like content planning tasks, or research. People need comfort.
Give your teams checklists to follow – like ensuring their chair allows their feet to rest flat on the floor, or making sure their screen is at eye level. Little tweaks prevent discomfort, and keep work flowing smoothly.
Designing Collaborative Spaces
In the office, fostering collaboration is crucial – particularly when teams aren’t always around at the same time. Create areas that encourage teamwork- think open layouts with comfy seating and tech-equipped meeting rooms. But also ensure there are quiet zones for when you need to hunker down and focus. Balancing collaborative and private spaces caters to diverse work styles.
Keeping the Team Spirit Alive Across Time Zones
When your team is scattered across different locations and time zones, communication is your best friend. Use tools like Slack or Teams for real-time chats and project management apps to keep everyone in the loop.
Embrace asynchronous communication – this means not everyone needs to be online simultaneously, which is crucial. global teams. Regular virtual check-ins and updates can help maintain a sense of camaraderie and ensure everyone stays aligned.
Fostering Connections Beyond Work
Building relationships isn’t just about work talk. Organize virtual coffee breaks, team-building activities, or occasional in-person meet-ups if possible. These moments of connection can strengthen team bonds and make collaboration smoother.
Protecting Wellbeing: Maintaining True Work-Life Balance
Ensuring team members maintain work-life balance in the flexible working world is about more than just giving them extra time to spend on their hobbies and passions. Encouraging teams to use the four-day work week effectively, to invest in their mental health, stress management, and burnout prevention, leads to happier, more productive employees.
The good news? Research shows that the four-day work week does improve mental health. In one trial in Spain, 71% of participants reported reduced levels of burnout by the end of the trial. But teams need to reset from the always-on mindset.
Encourage staff members to:
- Set Clear Boundaries: Ensure everyone has a clear schedule set out, and make sure they stick to it. When the workday ends, resist the urge to email team members about tasks that need to be completed urgently. Use scheduling tools to send messages at appropriate times.
- Prioritize effectively: With compressed hours, effective time management becomes essential. Prioritizing tasks and setting realistic goals can help manage workload efficiently.
- Practice stress management: Help teams invest in burnout prevention with stress management techniques. Encourage them to look after their mental health, by spending more time outdoors, exercising, or meditating.
Using the Extra Day Effectively
Technically, your team members should be free to use their extra “free day” however they like. But it’s worth giving them some inspiration on how they can use their time to improve their physical and mental health. For instance, our technology journalist Rory uses his free day to focus on his artistic projects and connect with family and friends.
Kieran Devlin spends more time at the gym, working on his physical fitness, and tackling household chores. Our Commissioning Editor, Joshua Lunney, invests in his wellbeing and passions, by volunteering for his local hospice.
Want to really inspire your teams? Ask them to share how they’re using their time in regular meetings – it’s a great way to help staff forge connections, and introduce them to new ideas for how they can use the four-day work week to grow.
Leveraging Technology for Success: The Secret Weapon
One of the reasons now is the perfect time to embrace the four day work week, is that we actually have the tools we need to make it work. Automation, artificial intelligence, and cloud-based tools ensure we can accomplish more with less time.
At Today Digital, for instance, we use technology to transform every work process. Our commercial team uses HubSpot CRM to automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows, so they can spend more time investing in building stronger client relationships, with a personalized approach.
Our content creation team takes advantage of artificial intelligence, to help them brainstorm ideas, summarize research, and refine pieces ready for publication. Even our journalistic team relies on AI to help them extract key points from interview transcripts, search the web for up-to-date news, and even convert assets into different formats for our audience.
By embracing technology, our team members can free up the mental bandwidth they need for strategic planning and creative execution.
Beyond embracing AI and automation, experiment with a range of productivity tools, communication platforms, and collaboration software:
- Productivity tools: Simple tools, like task management platforms, and digital to-do lists, make it easier for teams to stay focused and on track. Staff spend less time planning, and more time actually completing critical work.
- Communication platforms: Communication platforms, like Microsoft Teams, are excellent for keeping everyone on the same page. They foster quick, convenient connectivity, allowing teams to share ideas and work creatively with colleagues.
- Collaboration software: Collaboration software, from file-sharing tools, to digital workplaces like Google Workspace and Monday.com, ensure teams can still work cohesively on tasks, even when they’re not in the same office space.
Infusing your digital workplace with intuitive technologies means you can maintain productivity, and work quality, while taking some of the extra pressure off your teams. It’s a win-win.
The Four-Day Work Week is Here – Are you Ready?
Realistically, the four-day work week isn’t just a passing trend. Countless governments worldwide are actively encouraging companies to shift into this new mindset. We’re discovering, time and time again, that a compressed work week is more flexible, sustainable, and beneficial to teams.
As burnout continues to accelerate, and new generations enter the office, the chances are that the four-day work week will become the new flexible working reality for countless companies. That’s particularly true in the tech industry – where teams already have access to the tools they need to thrive in a “non-traditional” work environment.
At Today Digital, we’ve seen first-hand how the shift to the four-day work week supports our people, boosts productivity, and increases engagement. Our teams come back from each long weekend more creative, energetic, and recharged.
They actually have time to live- whether that means hitting the gym, diving into passion projects, or just spending more time with family. Yes, making the change takes planning. Yes, it requires a shift in mindset. But the payoff? A happier, more motivated workforce and a company culture that thrives.
If you’re on the fence, consider this: the companies embracing the four-day work week are the ones attracting top talent, boosting retention, and driving real results. The future of work isn’t about grinding—it’s about working smarter, not longer.
