Does working a four-day week make you happier?

Like galore full-time workers Laura Etchells had longed for hours much flexible than the accepted Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.

The mum-of-two from Hebden Bridge successful West Yorkshire, present works her full-time occupation successful publishing, compressed into 4 days, and wouldn’t person it immoderate different way.

She says the other time disconnected - Friday successful her lawsuit - saves her astir £350 a period successful childcare costs, and she says makes her much productive successful her job.

"The longer days let maine to get my teeth stuck into things a spot more," she says, adding that if she were to enactment anyplace other past a compressed week would beryllium a "must".

“Cost wasn’t the deciding origin to condense into 4 days, but it did lend to the decision. The wide payment was spending much clip with my children whilst maintaining my full-time job.”

The BBC has heard from respective people, similar Laura, who enactment compressed hours, aft Labour said it wants to fortify workers' rights for much flexible hours.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds held a gathering with concern leaders to sermon their plan, which is portion of the upcoming Employment Bill.

Since April, employees person had the close to petition flexible moving from time one, including compressed hours, but ineligible experts deliberation Labour's program volition apt purpose to marque it harder for employers to cull requests for greater flexibility.

Currently, workers request to person their employers to let flexible hours. Under Labour's plan, employment solicitor Alison Loveday says companies whitethorn request to explicate "on what grounds tin they warrant refusing a four-day week".

The proposals bash not lucifer the explanation arsenic acceptable retired by the authoritative four-day week campaign, which calls for the aforesaid wage for less hours.

Rather, Labour has said that employees would "still beryllium doing the aforesaid magnitude of work" crossed antithetic moving patterns - specified as, for example, 4 10-hour shifts.

Laura’s employer, Emerald Publishing, offers a scope of flexible moving options, which it says makes unit much productive and improves work-life balance.

However, the company’s main ineligible and radical serviceman Emma Tregenza admits: “While the benefits are clear, it’s worthy noting that it tin beryllium a agelong time for radical doing compressed hours.

"That tin besides person a knock-on effect connected others successful the squad who enactment a ‘normal pattern’… what it does to their schedules. It tin beryllium challenging to enactment astir aggregate variations of moving hours.”

Jason Magee had a alternatively antithetic acquisition to Laura erstwhile Cortex, the Guernsey-based bundle steadfast helium works for, trialled compressing staff’s hours past August, with everyone moving 35 hours crossed 4 days, alternatively than five.

Although helium was anxious to springiness it a spell and recalls making afloat usage of his Fridays off, helium says the longer moving days were a situation and thinks helium was little productive.

"After astir 7 oregon 8 hours, you commencement to consciousness tally down and you're not moving arsenic champion arsenic you can,” helium says.

Matt Thornton, 1 of Cortex’s founders, says it shifted the firm’s focus.

“We’re not a institution that timepiece watches. But during the proceedings period, we became acold much conscious of moving hours, alternatively than whether they were getting the enactment done.

“We’re a bundle concern and person longer-term concern goals alternatively than weekly, but erstwhile you compress moving hours, you enactment the spotlight connected those 4 days alternatively than the outcome.”

Cortex is present experimenting with a four-day week with reduced hours, meaning 4 eight-hour days, in enactment with the authoritative campaign, and Matt says the feedback to this has been overmuch much positive.

There is constricted probe astir the benefits of moving compressed hours.

A 2023 report for the International Labour Organization states: “Studies of the effects of existing compressed workweeks mostly reason that they positively impact work–life balance.”

But it adds: “However, determination is simply a deficiency of statement concerning the physiological and intelligence wellness effects of compressed workweeks.”

For Kelly Burton, a intelligence wellness caregiver from Crewe, condensing her hours into a four-day week since July has fixed her “perfect work-life balance”.

"I’m happier astatine work, tin walk the other time looking aft aged parents and inactive person my weekend,” she told the BBC.

Peter Meacham, a dispensing optician astatine a pharmacy successful Basildon, Essex, made the aforesaid determination successful September 2020.

Both Kelly and Peter accidental they had to person their bosses that they could get the aforesaid magnitude of enactment done implicit 4 days.

Peter works Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which gives him Tuesday and Wednesday disconnected for his hobby - performing magic shows for charity.

If helium were to get a caller job, helium says the quality to enactment a compressed week would beryllium "an implicit cardinal factor" successful his decision.

Despite the occurrence stories from radical similar Laura, Kelly and Peter, Michelle Ovens, laminitis of Small Business Britain, has mixed views connected compressed hours.

She describes it arsenic "a constricted solution that volition not enactment for all, peculiarly the tiny businesses that request to enactment unfastened passim the week, often with highest periods of activity".

She says that introducing a four-day week could pb to higher staffing costs and that determination are different ways of improving flexibility and accommodating unit "rather than simply implementing compressed hours and a strict four-day week system".

She advises businesses not to beryllium alarmed by the government's proposals, though.

"Labour has been wide that it is not mandating the four-day moving week," she says.

"It is important that tiny businesses are reassured that determination is nary origin for concern, particularly for sectors wherever this argumentation would not beryllium feasible."

For those who are inactive unsure astir whether a compressed week volition enactment for them, those words volition travel arsenic immoderate relief.

Additional reporting by Oliver Smith and Bernadette McCague