UK company adopts four-day work week so employees can focus on themselves

The policy has been extended across the company following a “successful trial period.”

A company in the north west of England has adopted a four-day working week across the business to give its employees a “better work/life balance.”

Greater Manchester-based company Belmont Packaging has adopted the new approach, along with its sister company Boxed-Up Packaging, after trialling the policy in its manufacturing department in late 2019. The aim was that the shorter working week could give staff “more time to focus on themselves, their mental health and their loved ones”.

The change was a success and is now being rolled out across the rest of the company from September 20, according to Manchester Evening News.

Commercial manager Gareth Rollo said: “As well as valuing our customers, business trade partners and suppliers we also value our biggest assets, the employees whose hard work, commitment and dedication make our business the success it is.

“In order to further recognise this, and to lead the way in employee health and wellbeing, we are delighted to announce an industry-leading change to ways of working which is intended to give our employees a better work-life balance while allowing us to continue giving our customers the first-class products and service they are accustomed to.”

Thank you to @businesslive for sharing our latest update.
We are delighted to announce we are changing the way we work by adapting a four-day working week! Find out more here- https://t.co/cSq7qT4dfM #fourdayweek #pressrelease #mentalhealth pic.twitter.com/Lhpy1WW3iE

— Boxed-Up (@Boxed_Up) September 17, 2021

There is a growing conversation across the UK around the benefits of a shorter working week, with Scotland saying it would be trialling the initiative after research found that 80 per cent of people believed that cutting their number of days at work, with no loss of pay, would have a “positive effect on their wellbeing”.

The SNP has already pledged a £10 million fund for businesses trialing a shorter working week.

This year, Iceland took part in the world’s biggest ever trial of a four-day week, whilst the government in Japan has made serious efforts to make a shorter working week the norm.

Related links:

• World’s largest ever four day week trial ‘overwhelming success’
• Scotland urged to expand four-day working week on same pay trials
• Japan becomes latest country to introduce plans for a four-day work week