Your IndustryFeb 22 2023

Advice firms show limited appetite for four-day working week

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Advice firms show limited appetite for four-day working week
Earlier this week, the findings from the world’s largest trial of a four-day work week showed that the vast majority of companies taking part in the trial have chosen to maintain the new working schedule. (Bich Tran/Pexels)

Advice and mortgage firms have expressed scepticism and limited interest in rolling out a four-day work week, despite the success of the world’s largest trial.

Owners and managers of firms told FTAdviser they did not think a four-day week would work in the advice profession but some said they would “like to be proven wrong”.

Yesterday (February 22), the findings from the world’s largest trial of a four-day work week showed that the vast majority of companies taking part in the trial have chosen to maintain the new working schedule.

Of the 61 companies that took part in the six-month UK-based trial, 56 have extended the four-day week and 18 have made it permanent.

Organised by campaign group 4 Day Week Global, think-tank Autonomy and researchers at Boston College and the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, the trial took place over a period of six months.

It involved almost 3,000 workers, with workplaces ranging from education and consultancy businesses, to banking, IT, retail and recruitment groups.

Workplaces that took part in the trial all adopted a model of 100 per cent of the pay for 80 per cent of the work.

Some chose to do this by offering one day a week off, while others let staff work 80 per cent of their previous hours on a flexible basis.

Benefits of the trial were most significant for employees who reported significantly lower levels of burnout and improved work-life balance and employees’ physical and mental health.

Likewise firms benefited from the trial, with revenues rising on average more than a third during the trial compared to the same period in 2021. 

Staff turnover levels were also reduced, with 57 per cent fewer staff leaving the firms taking part compared to a year earlier, while the number of sick days taken during the trial also fell by about two-thirds.

Despite this success, appetite for a wider roll-out remains limited in the advice and mortgage space. 

Director of R3 Mortgages, Riz Malik said the sample size of the trial suggests the results should be “taken with a pinch of salt”. 

“I don't believe the current economic climate in the UK allows for the luxury of a four-day week,” he added.

“We are still feeling the effects of Brexit, and none of the economic data I have seen suggests that we can afford to take our foot off the gas.”

Many firms liked the sound of a four-day week in principle, but said making it work in practice seemed like an impossibility. 

A spokesperson for AJ Bell told FTAdviser that it has no plans for a four-day week. 

They added: “I don’t think our customers or advisers would be too happy if we stopped answering the phone on a Friday.”

Similarly, Quilter also said it has no plans for introducing or trialing a four-day week.

Seven-day week?

Director of Houz Mortgages, Benjamin Blyth said it would work well in some industries “but not ours”.

Blyth said he would actually argue that lenders should be trialling a seven-day week.

“Not for individuals of course, but have departments open and shift patterns that allow the engine to always be running and improve service levels,” he said. 

Blyth noted that many brokers operate as ‘always open’, largely because so many are self-employed which makes it “hard to ever switch off”.

“I pride myself on being flexible and with a little notice can be available to a client 24/7. Making myself available on an evening means I can be guilt-free on the golf course on a Monday lunchtime. 

“With the flexibility I have on this basis, you can keep your four-day week,” Blyth said.

Lewis Shaw, owner of Riverside Mortgages said if the practical issues around a four-day week could be solved, he would be in favour of a wide-scale roll out. 

“I'd love it if a four-day working week became the norm as it can only benefit us all. The problems that occur in a service-based business are that you have to be where the customers are, when they are, to be able to serve them. 

“Solve that conundrum, and I'll be aboard the four-day train,” Shaw said. 

Others in the industry felt that a four-day week was just not relevant to the mortgage and advice sectors.

This was the view of Henchurch Lane Financial Services, managing director Paul Holland who said he has not had any staff raise the idea internally with him. 

He added however that it sounds like a “lovely” idea and that he hopes it gets some traction. 

Louis Mason, communications manager for mortgage brokerage Oportfolio said the firm had considered a four-day week and remote working in the past but said with the current economic climate the firm does not think it would benefit clients or staff.

“As a team we have decided that to be able to offer the best possible service we can for our clients, we need to be in the office and working five-days a week. 

“All mortgage lenders and most solicitors are open all week, and the mortgage market does not rest - so that is what makes sense for us now. 

“We also love the office environment, the camaraderie, and the bonding we can do together as a team. Perhaps this will change in the future, and we might be able to work out a plan where we can reduce the work hours, but now we have a duty to our clients to make sure that we are managing their applications daily,” Mason said.

Likewise Tim Morris, IFA with Russell & Co said he finds the idea very interesting, but is sceptical about the long-term impact.

“I would liken it to the increase in home working resulting from Covid lockdowns,” he explained. 

“At first, many companies reported increased staff productivity and engagement. And now, many companies have reversed these policies and now require staff back in the office for at least two or three days a week.

“I see the same happening here. At first people will fully engage and ensure they complete their required work in a shorter timescale. And then, human nature means that most people will slip into old working habits and become less productive per working day,” Morris said.

He added: “Happy to be proven wrong on that one and will get fully onboard.” 

jane.matthews@ft.com