If you’re reading this on your Thursday commute, thinking you could do with another long weekend, there’s no way you’ll have missed reports about trials of a shorter working week.
The pilot is being run by Oxbridge academics in partnership with the 4 Day Week UK Campaign, who say that it will boost wellbeing and productivity, as well as reduce commute-related pollution by 127 million tonnes per year.
By Christmas, the trial results will be in, and perhaps by this time next year, Thursday will be the new Friday. But whether or not it works out, the important thing is that it’s a headline-making example of businesses being willing to innovate to improve the wellbeing of their workforces.
With any luck, it’s just the start: a review published earlier this month by UCL’s Institute of Health Equity, funded by financial services provider Legal & General, advised that “health” should be added to the environmental, social and governance agenda for all businesses.
The lead author, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, argued that responsibility for the nation’s health — from mental wellbeing to life expectancy — is as much a role of the business sector as it is of government and society at large.
The key areas of influence the report highlighted included pay and benefits, hours, job security and working conditions, as well as the wider impacts of a business on social justice and the environment.
So where could your business step up to upgrade the health of the nation? It’s a topic ripe for discussion at The Watercooler, and our live event at Olympia London, where more than 100 speakers will address this and more, is now just over a month away.
The Watercooler (25-26 May) will include 5,000 workplace wellbeing professionals, 120+ speakers and 120 hours of free learning. Contact francis@watercoolerevent.com for commercial opportunities or register for free at watercoolerevent.com
