Four days of work and five days of pay could become the norm in Ireland, to the benefit of both employees and employers. This is according to Margaret Cox, the director of ICE Group, the first Irish company to make the switch to a four-day working week. Ms. Cox and her colleague Felim McDonnell wrote a book about their experiences, ‘The 3-Day Weekend’, and are now advocating for the system to be adopted by other businesses.
Ms. Cox believes that the four-day week many companies had during St Patrick’s Day should inspire them to consider a four-day working week. She and Mr. McDonnell first looked into the idea when planning their company’s four-year plan for 2020-2024, around the time New Zealand was introducing the system on a large scale. Since July 2019, ICE Group has been using the system with great success.
Ms. Cox explains that the system is simple, and asks for 100% productivity in the four days worked for five days of pay. Staff quickly accepted the idea, as ICE Group took a team approach to implementing changes and engaging the staff from the beginning.
The results were impressive, with a 27% increase in productivity and an almost non-existent single-day absences.
Ms. Cox believes that if a four-day week became the norm in Ireland, people would have more family time, more time to care for others, and more opportunities to get back into education or to retrain. She is passionate about promoting the system, as it has been both a commercial and personal success.
The key to making the four-day week successful is coordination, and ensuring that a five-day service is still provided. This requires teamwork and ensuring that everyone is focused and energised when in the office. Ms. Cox says that companies who are brave and mature enough to consider the system will benefit from increased productivity and reduced absenteeism.
The four-day working week may not be feasible for larger companies, but with the right amount of courage from business leaders, Ms. Cox believes it could become the norm in Ireland. She encourages businesses considering a four-day working week to look into the system and to keep in mind the value of output over time spent at the desk.
