Ah, September. Month of blustery mornings. Of afternoons where the leaves crunch satisfyingly under your feet. Of endless confusion about the day on which PE kit is required. Don't you just love it?
We can't help but feel a flutter of excitement at this time of year. Possibly it's because of the sudden silence at home, or the reduced demands for snacks and screen time. Maybe you're celebrating the excuse to dig out cosy sweaters and to retreat inside with a book. Or perhaps it's the fact that the air is just that touch fresher, the colours that fraction richer. Everyone I pass is walking with a little bit more purpose in their steps. However old we are, as the new academic year rolls around, I think we all feel a little more driven - that it's time to set ourselves some new goals, and that we finally have the bandwidth and the space to achieve them.
If your children are starting school, growing up fast, or are perhaps flying the nest this year, you might be considering your next steps. Are you thinking about a return to the workplace? Are you weighing up a change of pace in your career? Perhaps you've concluded that you'll now have more time to pursue a promotion, or maybe you suddenly have some more financial freedom to take a bit of a risk and change your professional direction completely?
Whatever your plans, you might be interested to hear what the grapevine is saying about possible developments in the world of work. It's been reported that the UK government are making plans to strengthen employees' rights to request flexible working as part of their Make Work Pay plan - and in particular, the media has been full of reports that it may soon be easier to negotiate a shorter working week, with five days of work being compressed into four. To cut a long story short, we think this is brilliant news! Here at 9-2-3, as you know, we've long championed the benefits of flexible working, in all its forms. But as so many of our candidates consider the next step along their professional journeys, we thought it might be worth digging down into the pros and cons of this particular type of flex.
Firstly, it's important to distinguish the working pattern which the government's mentioned from the official Four Day Week movement - which recommends that employees should work only 80% of a standard working week, without any reduction in pay. Instead, the government's discussion appears to be focussing on compressed hours - a situation where organisations enable their staff to work five days' worth of working hours in four days.
Is this definitely the best way forward for me, I hear you ask? Well, of course, as we've highlighted before, there are huge benefits to flexible working in general - both for employees and for organisations. Certainly, a 2023 report by the International Labour Organisation reported that a compressed working week was linked to a significant improvement in overall job satisfaction. It seems pretty clear that three days each week of leisure time is likely to improve work-life balance, and help people to spend more time with their families and friends - which might be particularly important to you if, for example, you have elderly parents who need support, or young children. It can enable you to save significant amounts of money on childcare - and during the cost of living crisis, this can be the difference between sinking or swimming for many families. It can give you time to explore other interests - whether that's learning a new instrument, training for a sporting event or volunteering in the community. The ability to get your head down and really focus on a project over a longer working day, with fewer stops and starts, can lead to higher productivity for many employees - and, in turn, of course, that can lead to greater career success and better promotion prospects. After all, a little bit of compression can transform the most shy and unassuming of minerals into twinkling gemstones - might a compressed working arrangement be the catalyst that helps you to shine at work?
Taking a step back, an increase in the number of roles which offer compressed hours is likely to be a good thing for all of us. It might make the difference between individuals being able to stay in the workforce or having to leave in order to fulfil their caring commitments. It could open up a sustainable path back into the workplace after a career break, where once the ground looked too rocky. It might mean that employees are more able to apply for promotions and extra training, and can push forward with their career progression plans in a way that was previously difficult - perhaps due to childcare logistics or costs. All of these are positive developments - more people in work means more taxes to fund healthcare and education, after all.
That said, it's important to realise that this might not be the best type of flex for everyone - and that that's completely fine. Thankfully, you'll be glad to hear that there are probably as many different types of flexibility as there are brands of new school cardigans. Let's forget the headlines for a moment - if you're applying for a new role, it's obviously sensible to give some serious thought to what working pattern would be most enjoyable and most practical for your particular circumstances. Compressing a full working week into four days can, of course, mean that those four days can be pretty long. Will they work with your childcare arrangements, for example, or will they lead to a panicked battle through the rush hour traffic to hurl yourself at the nursery doors before they close each night? Might it actually be better to ask for a part-time arrangement, or a job share? When you're putting in place arrangements which will have such a huge impact on your overall happiness, it's worth being absolutely truthful with yourself about your own strengths and weaknesses so that you can maximise your efficiency and avoid burnout. Are you someone who enjoys the chance to really dive into a task for a longer period, without interruption, or are you more productive in shorter, sharper bursts? Do you feel that longer days are something that you'd thrive on, or would they leave you feeling slightly stressed - might it be the case that, rather than causing you to shimmer, the compression of your working hours might extinguish your passion for your career? Might a different type of flex suit you better?
The nitty-gritty of logistics can also play a huge part in the success or otherwise of a compressed working week. For example, if a number of colleagues are chomping at the bit to move to a four day week, have you collectively agreed that you'll all work on a particular day, to make sure that you still have the chance to share ideas and collaborate on projects? Have you discussed with your manager whether your four working days will be set in stone, or might there be any flexibility to move them around occasionally if you'd like to attend sports day? These questions are ones which can be navigated fairly easily - and they certainly shouldn't be an obstacle to making your four day week a success - but we all know it's a good idea to head as many potential issues as possible off at the pass, to ensure a smooth ride for all parties.
Ultimately, whilst the compressed four day week might not be the perfect working arrangement for everybody, it's a pretty great set-up for many of us, and we're delighted that the government understands how important it is that work has to, well, work - for everyone. We also know at 9-2-3 that the working arrangements that people need might well change throughout their working lives - after all, caring responsibilities and family logistics are quite likely to change every few years. It's great to be aware of the range of flexible options out there, so that you can make an informed decision about what's best for you before sitting down to discuss possible roles with potential employers. It takes courage to embark on new professional adventures. For some of us, it's been decades since we sat in an interview. Sometimes you just need a metaphorical hand to hold. To walk you through the possibilities out there. To bolster your spirit when things feel hard, and to show you your true worth in the job market. Whether compressed or not, we know that there's something inside each and every one of our candidates that makes them sparkle. Part of what we love about our job is the chance to draw that out, hold it up for the world to see, and find you the perfect setting for your talents to be noticed and appreciated. If it's something you've been thinking about over the summer, please do give us a call. Be brave! There are more possibilities out there than you realise. The right one for you is just waiting...