Sir Christopher Pissarides, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics back in 2010, has stated that it is his view that artificial intelligence (AI) could pave the way towards making the four-day working week the norm.
Four-Day Working Week
As we highlighted in a recent article, a 6 month trial of a four-day working week delivered some very positive results for those employers who participated in it.
In the 6 month trial, employees of the participating employers worked a four-day week without the loss of any pay, with the aim of determining whether the four-day week delivers an increase in productivity, as well as improvements in health, wellbeing, work life balance, and staff retention.
Trial Results
The results of the four-day working week trial were published on the 21st February 2023, and the findings were as follows:-
- Participating employees reported that a four-day week had improved their work life balance, with 54% stating that they were better able to combine work with tasks at home, and 62% stating that they were better able to integrate work with socialising. 60% of working carers also reported that they were better able to manage
- 39% of participating employees stated that their stress levels had fallen, and 71% reported a fall in burnout. 40% also stated that they were sleeping better
- 15% of participating employees stated that no amount of money could induce them to voluntarily return to working a five-day week
- Employers reported an average increase in revenue of 35% during the period of the trial, compared to the same period in 2021
- Whilst absenteeism fell by 65% on average, their was also a 57% reduction in staff departures . Moreover, there was an increase in recruitment
- Out of 10, the participating employers provided an average overall rating of 8.5. In terms of productivity and performance, the average rating was 7.5
- 92% of the participating employers plan to continue allowing their employees to work a 4 day week, with another 4% inclined to do the same. Just 4% of the employers stated that they would not be continuing with the shorter working week
Reaction
The director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, Joe Ryle, declared the trial a “major breakthrough moment“. He stated: “Across a wide variety of sectors, wellbeing has improved dramatically for staff; and business productivity has either been maintained or improved in nearly every case. We’re really pleased with the results and hopefully it does show that the time to roll out a four-day week more widely has surely come.“
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Has A Role To Play
With the 6 month trial of the four-day working week having proved to be a success, in a new interview with Fox Business’s Varney & Co, Sir Christopher Pissarides has stated that artificial intelligence (AI) could help to make a four-day working week the norm. He argues that: "There would be more productivity. We would not need to work on those same things as long hours as before. And therefore we will be able to have the same income with fewer hours of work."
Pissarides adds: "Pace is driven by productivity. Productivity will increase because these machines are working faster and better than human beings at the tasks they are doing, many tasks that they are not doing. But the tasks that they are doing, they will be able to produce the same product, therefore get the same money in a much shorter period of time than what we are doing now. And therefore we'd be able to take that extra time off if you want."
By this, Pissarides means that employers will be able to move workers on to a four-day working week on the same pay, because they will be able to do the same amount of work with the help of AI that used to take five days, on a four-day working week
Productivity Gain Could Transform Society
Moreover, back in January 2023, Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella told a Wall Street Journal panel that the capacity of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance human abilities will fuel innovation, without necessarily replacing workers. The concept behind this is that artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly increase productivity, potentially leading to societal transformation (i.e. such as a four-day working week becoming the norm).
300 Million Jobs Exposed To Automation
Nevertheless, a recent Goldman Sachs report published on the 26th March 2023 projects that "generative AI could expose the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs to automation."
New Report
However, another recent report published by Ayming UK as part of its ‘UK HR Barometer 2023‘ found that 64% of employers suppported a move to a four-day working week, with many being of the view that artificial intelligence (AI) will assist with that process. Indeed, the research found that 30% of the respondents were planning to introduce various forms of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in 2023.
Commenting upon the Ayming UK findings, the Partner of People, Performance and Development, Scott Ward, stated: "Artificial Intelligence is starting to have a tangible impact. Chat GPT has already been a force for disruption, but that will likely accelerate as businesses learn how to harness it. Although this might contribute to redundancies in some areas, it could equally improve work life, making tasks more efficient and allowing people to focus on more rewarding work…..The case for a four-day week was already strong, but AI could really seal the deal for workers and trigger a widespread transition to a shorter work week."
