Four-day week workers enjoy hiking, horse riding and more quality family time
Employees said they had been able to be just as productive but also enjoy hobbies in their extra downtime.
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Your support makes all the difference.Horse riding, hiking, a carpentry course and doing school runs are among the benefits employees working a four-day week have enjoyed.
Staff at some of the firms that took part in the world’s biggest ever pilot on a shorter working week said they loved having more quality family time, felt well-rested and indulged in hobbies they had wanted to take up since they were children.
The final working day of the week can be “more focused, potentially slightly more frantic” but the “pay-off” of a three-day weekend far outweighs those struggles, said the director of an environmental consultancy.
Jack Jewell, who is based in Manchester with Tyler Grange, said pay rises are one thing “but to be able to give time back has been a lot more valuable”.
His colleague, landscape planning director Wendy Lancaster said the extra day away from work feels like “a luxury”, while client director Nathan Jenkinson said there have been “no observable downsides”.
Mr Jenkinson, who is based in London, said the longer weekend gives him and his colleagues more drive to work harder and more efficiently during the week.
He told the PA news agency: “We come into work on a Monday and we’re all firing on all cylinders. We’re ready to go, very up for work, and you can tell, and I certainly feel, that I actually have (had) time to switch off.
“I think two days, you may just have enough time to start switching off then you’re back into it Monday, but I feel like when I come in on Monday, I’ve had a decent break every week, and it means that I’m ready to give everything I’ve got for the four days that I’m in.”
Positives include “lots of quality time to spend with family” as well as long walks with his rescue dog Toby on Fridays and hiking in the Lake District.
I’ve recently started riding lessons. It's something I've wanted to do ever since I was a kid. It just feels like such a luxury to be able to do that
He has also taken up carpentry and upcycling as hobbies, away from laptops and constant work notifications.
“When I was little I loved carpentry, although I wasn’t very good at it,” he said.
“So I’ve used my Fridays to actually learn, start to learn how to do that. I’ve built a small shed in my garden, which is a nice space now to use. And I’m now starting to learn how to upcycle furniture. I did a small carpentry and joinery course late last year.
“And again, now I’m using that to just do something a bit more hands-on in my free time that doesn’t involve any screens or notifications which work life seems to be dominated by these days.”
Ms Lancaster, a mother-of-two, does the Friday school pick-ups and drop-offs and takes care of “life admin” which she said lets her feel more present and full of energy for a weekend with her family.
She too has taken up a hobby.
“I’ve recently started riding lessons,” she said. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a kid and I’m very bad at it but it just feels like such a luxury, you know, to be able to do that. To be in a position where I’ve got time and money to do that.”
Of her Fridays, which she also uses to edit a magazine for an educational charity, she said: “Being able to go out and do stuff without the kids hanging off me or people at work needing me, I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that.”
Mr Jewell said he loves being “a lot more present” with his young daughter, and used his extra day off in the run-up to the festive season to build her Christmas present.
We can give pay raises and such but to be able to give time back has been a lot more valuable
He said: “I’ve spent Fridays building a doll’s house for my daughter which previously I was sort of having to work into the evenings and such trying to get that done for a Christmas deadline.
“But just having that extra breathing space in my week has been a really welcome addition. It’s just time, which you don’t get. We can give pay raises and such but to be able to give time back has been a lot more valuable.”
Both he and Ms Lancaster also volunteer at the Farms for City Children charity.
He said: “Just time off work where you know you can switch off and go and help others has just been a really welcome addition to my working week.”
Alistair Dickson, a graphic designer at the Brighton-based 5 Squirrels cosmetics company, had a young baby when the firm decided to take part in the pilot.
He told PA: “Having one less day at work is obviously going to be quite popular. But for me personally it was a good time in my life being that we had just had a baby.
“It meant I could spend more time at home helping my wife with the baby rather than constantly working.”
He said it is “quite rewarding” to know you can “still be productive but have that extra day off”.