A British bank has moved to a four-day work week for all of its employees in order to see if it can reduce stress and increase productivity.
The truncated work week is voluntary and will have no impact on salaries, according to the policy announced by Atom Bank. A number of well-known firms have trialed shorter weekly hours in specific departments or regional offices, but Atom has extended the option to everyone in the company.
If you want to take that extra day off, you'll have to work 34 hours instead of the previous 37. Most workers are expected to take Monday or Friday off, according to The Financial Times.
Atom said that if anyone at the firm prefers not to stay late, they can still work five days a week. The company said in a statement on its website that the policy began on November 1.
The firm said it made the move to improve work-life balance, focus on employees' mental health and wellbeing, and reduce environmental impact.
The past two years have shown us how important it is to spend quality time with our loved ones.
The extra stress brought on by working through a Pandemic has forced many of us to re-examine the relationship between our jobs and our personal lives.
Mark Mullen said that it would take time for people to adjust, but that the firm hadn't seen a drop in productivity or customer service quality yet.
If you've just spent 20 years in a single model, and suddenly you're thrown into a new one, you wonder what you're going to do with all this time. The admiral told CNN.
Other firms and regional departments have tried four-day work weeks before. Microsoft said it found that the experiment boosted productivity by 40% and made meetings more efficient.
Spain announced a pilot program earlier this year that offers cash to 200 companies willing to test the idea of shorter weekly work hours, while Iceland declared "overwhelming success" in its trials.
Insider reached out to Atom Bank.
