British Company Asks Employees to Work Four Days a Week, Doesn't Implement Paycuts
- The company, a smartphone-based bank now has its workers work from Monday to Thursday
- The new schedule was effected on November 1 and has not affected the employee's pay
- According to the bank's CEO, the move aims at making workers happier and healthier in a bid to boost productivity
You can make YEN.com.gh an Online Media Company of the year! Vote for us at National Communication Award 2021!
Overworking brings about fatigue which in turn affects productivity negatively.
Source: Facebook
Monday to Thursday affair
It is because of this particular reason that a bank in Britain decided to reduce working days for its staff, all in a bid to boost productivity.
YEN.com.gh has learnt Atom Bank, Britain's first smartphone-based bank recently moved its staff on to a four-day a week working formula.
Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with all major Ghana news
The icing on the cake is the fact that their pay remains the same, a move the bank's bosses disclosed is aimed at making employees happier and healthier.
According to Dailymail UK, the bank's 430 workers started doing 34-hour weeks over four days instead of the earlier 37.5 hours over five days since on Monday, November 1.
The employees have been working from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm from Mondays to Thursdays, which is an addition of an extra hour to their normal day but taking a full day off on Fridays.
Speaking during an interview with Times, Atom Bank's Chief Executive Officer Mark Mullen, 53, said the move has not reduced output.
Happier and healthier people
He added that the move will in fact make workers happier and healthier, hence multiplying production.
"If you can do things as effectively over four days as over five, why be dogmatic? We want to invest in our people. I don't think there's any conflict between happy and engaged people and happy and engaged customers. I would argue if you don't have the same you're not going to have the second. Every business is just its people. It's good business to have healthy engaged people. They deliver better customer service. We've been doing it for three weeks and we can't see a single business metric that we can point to that has deteriorated," Mullen said.
"You would have thought such a dramatic change would lead to deterioration but not a bit. I can't break the rules more than anyone else because if we don't commit to it it won't be a success. It's a complete day off. You get a three-day weekend every week,'' he added.
YEN.com.gh understands Atom Bank is the only biggest employer in the country to embrace the shift schedule on a full-time basis.
Other giants such as Unilever and Morrisons are still toying with the idea.
The impressive move comes amid a shortfall in workers and an excess of jobs across Britain.
With that, many companies have been trying to retain workers by rewarding them with flexible hours.
Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in
Source: YEN.com.gh
Priscilla Aklorbortu Priscilla believes the job is the job and must be done well. Priscilla worked as a journalist at the Daily Graphic.
Aba Afful (Copyeditor) Maame Aba serves as a copy editor at YEN.com.gh. She naturally enjoys working with words and has an eye for quality content. She has a keen interest in cyberspace and wants to see YEN.com.gh produce more impactful, thought-provoking, and error-free content. Aba has five years of experience as a content writer, blogger, author, and proofreader. She graduated from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 2017. She joined the team in 2021.
