Over 200 companies in the UK sign up for four-day working week

At a time when industry leaders in India such as Infosys boss Narayana Murthy and Larsen & Toubro chairman and MD S.N. Subrahmanyan have been advocating 70- and 90-hour working weeks respectively, other nations are clearly taking a different route to productivity and work-life balance.

According to a report in the Guardian, at least 200 firms in the United Kingdom have signed up to implement a permanent four-day working week for all their employees while they continue to pay the same salary. Of these 200 companies, 59 are based in London, the report states. 

Also as per the report, this initiative is a result of a recent campaign to reinvent the UK's working environment. According to the ‘4 Day Week Foundation’, a not-for-profit that promotes a four-day working week in Britain, these 200 companies employ more than 5,000 people and operate in sectors like charities, marketing, technology, and others.

India, meanwhile, is already notorious as one of the most overworked nations in the world at an average of 46.7 hours per week, while Germany, the UK and France report an average of 34.2, 35.9 and 35.9 hours respectively.

Highlighting the 'five-day work week' as a hangover from an earlier economic age, Joe Ryle, the foundation's campaign director, told the Guardian that “9-5, the five-day working week was invented 100 years ago and is no longer fit for purpose. We are long overdue an update”.

Ryle also focused on how this four-day workweek can be a “win-win” situation for workers and employers. “50 per cent more free time, a four-day week gives people the freedom to live happier, more fulfilling lives,” he told the Guardian. “As hundreds of British companies and one local council have already shown, a four-day week with no loss of pay can be a win-win for both workers and employers.”

Which companies are leading four-day work week

Of the 200 companies adopting the four-day working week, 30 are from the marketing, advertising, and press relations sectors. 

Another set of 29 companies, including charities, NGOs, and the social care industry, have also supported this initiative. The report also shares that 24 companies from the technology, IT, and software sectors and 22 companies from the business, consulting, and management sectors have also offered their employees a permanent four-day working week.

Supporters of the four-day working week claimed that it was a way of attracting and retaining employees and boosting productivity to deliver the same output in fewer hours.

In India, however, several employers still believe that more hours spent in office equate to 'nation building' and 'productivity'. After triggering a massive debate over his statement that youth should work 70 hours a week, Infosys founder Narayana Murthy has said he used to be in office at 6.20 am every day.

Subrahmanyan, on the other hand, stirred up a row for comments he made to employees in a purported video of a group call, questioning what they would do sitting at home, how long they could stare at their spouses, and declaring that he would rather they work even on Sundays.