A council in Kent has come under fire for shortening its staff’s working week and telling them to take Friday afternoons off.

But is such criticism justified?

There is a growing body of research that suggests shorter working weeks can actually lead to staff being more productive when they are at work, perhaps even leading to an overall gain.

The biggest study so far was concluded last December. More than 60 UK companies put their staff on a four-day work week for a period of six months.

At the end, 90% of the firms said they would continue wth the experiment, while 18 went the full hog and adapted a four-day week permanently.

The majority of those taking part said that not only had productivity been retained, but that also staff retention rates had improved and there was a 65% reduction in the number of sick days taken.

Overall, business revenues had remained similar to the five-day week.

But opponents of a short week argue that there are some sectors where a reduction in hours is impracticable – and that might include the service sectors.

Decades ago, our shops would close for a half-day on Wednesday afternoons and all day on Sundays.

But in modern times, shoppers have come to expect to be able to buy what they want on any day of the week, and in the case of some supermarkets with 24-hour opening, at any time.

Councils have many customer-facing positions and no doubt there is concern that the public will find it more difficult to get a response to their housing crisis or report fly-tipping or whatever, if the entire council shuts down early.

During last year’s experiment, workers were paid full pay for 80% of their previous hours, but they were asked to commit to maintaining 100% productivity.

The experiment run by 4Day Week Global involved 2,900 employees in the marketing, advertising, finance, care, construction recruitment, digital manufacturing and food retail sectors.

It’s easy to imagine how office staff might be able to retain productivity, just by working more efficiently, taking fewer chats around the water cooler and holding fewer interminable meetings.

But it’s hard to imagine how a fully employed van driver could make the same number of deliveries in four days as in five.

Swale Borough Council, which has taken a decision to reduce its staff’s working hours because it couldn’t afford a pay rise, has come in for some severe criticism online.

But how much of that is sour grapes from people who would dearly like to work four days a week themselves?

A 2021 survey carried out by the recruitment company Reed found that 80% of people would prefer to work a four-day week

The advantages for the employee are obvious, less chlld-care costs for one. Reduced travel costs possibly.

There could also be an advantage for the planet. With journeys to work reduced by a fifth, you would expect a consequent reduction in carbon emissions.

For those still commuting into London, they might at least enjoy less crowded trains and perhaps be able to get a seat more often.

Maureen Cleator is a shop steward for Unison's Kent Local Government branch.

She said: "A four-day week is both feasible and desirable, but perhaps it does depend on the type of service being provided.

"Obviously an out-of-hours service is essential for some sectors."

"There is plenty of evidence that a shorter week can actually lead to an increase in productivity and it is certainly better for the employee's work-life balance."

"There are sectors where the employees work long shifts, where they already work only four days a week.

"When I was with the NHS for example I had an alternate three-day and four-day week, but I was doing 12-hour shifts."

I just love my Fridays off

The idea of a four-day week is not new. As far back as 2018, a Maidstone firm called Reflect Digital became the first in Kent to officially adopt a four-day week, with staff dropping either Monday or Friday, but keeping their salaries.

The catch was that they had to work longer hours on the other days to maintain a 37.5 hour week.

Nearly five years later and the firm is still operating the same system.

The firm’s head of outreach, Joanne Earle, said: “It’s been a great success and I just love my Fridays off!

“For me, a four-day week has had such a positive impact on both my mental and physical health.

“Firstly it means that I can do all my life admin on a Friday. When it was first implemented in 2018 I was planning a wedding and so for me having a Friday off was huge and really beneficial.

“I had a whole day to do wedding-admin, go to meetings and make calls, which might have been difficult in a normal working week.

“Now, having a Friday off allows me to have a 'me' day. I go for a run or to the gym, or do some yoga.

“But it also allows me to see family, meet friends, or have an extended long-weekend away without booking the Friday off as 'holiday'.

“I feel so refreshed now after a weekend rather than feeling like I've crammed everything into two days.”

Becky Simms is Reflect Digital’s founder and CEO. She said: “We work in such a highly pressured industry, every member of our team deals with deadline after deadline.”

"Considering our employee's mental health, we thought 'what can we do to reduce stress in such a high pressured environment?'"

“Implementing a four-day week has been a complete success.

“We’ve even inspired some of our clients to consider trialling it.

“There haven’t been any drawbacks for us at Reflect Digital, only benefits.

She added: “Productivity has definitely increased. The team’s happiness was instantaneous. Having that bank holiday weekend feeling every weekend is amazing.

“If others were thinkng of trying it, I’d say think what works for you. A 4.5 day week may work better for some people, or allow staff the ability to finish at different times of the day.”