From Monday 4 November, Easy Read Online will be taking part in a 6-month trial of a 4 day working week, as part of the 4 day week campaign's 2024 pilot.
The concept of a 4 day week is that employees work for 80% of their contracted time, while continuing to be 100% as productive and keeping 100% of their pay.
Evidence from previous trials suggests that a 4 day week can both improve productivity and the wellbeing of employees. It has been shown to be a positive move for business in several ways, including retention of staff, reduction of sickness days, and an increase in innovation.
We already have a strong culture of support and communication and have great retention rates. For Easy Read Online, the 4 day week is an opportunity to further uplift our staff and increase happiness and fulfilment.
We have been working together as a team over the past couple of months to think about how we can make this change at Easy Read Online while maintaining the full and consistent service that our clients are used to.
We believe we have strategies and new ways of working in place to make sure we can do this. We also believe a more well-rested and happy workforce will be able to create even higher standards of Easy Read content for our clients!
We will be closely monitoring the impact of the 4 day working week throughout the trial to make sure our teams and clients are happy. We’re also working with researchers at the University of Sussex who will conduct various tests and provide us with detailed reports about the impact of the 4 day week. This will all help us to make a long-term decision at the end of the trial.
Will there be an impact on turnaround time for clients?
The short answer is no. The aim of a 4 day week is to be as productive in 4 working days as 5. That means Easy Read Online will continue to be as productive, with our current turnaround times remaining consistent for clients.