Deutschland, Wiesbaden, Business, Büro, Business-People, Besprechung, Architekturmodell, Laptop, Immobilie

What impact would a reduced working week have on sustainability

EY Sustainability and EY Law teams discuss the sustainability impact of a reduced working week and how this would affect businesses, workers and climate change.


In brief

  • A number of Irish businesses have participated in a 6-month pilot campaign to trial a: ‘Four Day Week Ireland’.
  • Recent studies point towards a correlation in reduced working hours and lower carbon footprints.

In 1973-1974, due to the looming energy crisis and industrial action of coal miners and railway workers, the UK government introduced a three-day week to conserve electricity. The measure lasted for just over two months, during which commercial consumption of electricity was limited to three specified consecutive days.

While conserving energy, it also resulted in the closing of many small businesses, unpaid wages, and lay-offs, despite promises it would not affect the economy. The measures came to an end after a snap election and a change of government, and business returned to service as normal, five days a week.¹

Understanding the reduced working week approach

In 2023, reduced working weeks look very different and involve employer and employee choice and engagement. In Ireland, a significant number of parents opt to take parental leave for part of their working week. For example, full time employees can use one day of parental leave each week, reducing their working time to 80% of their normal working week.
More recent alternatives to reduced working include employees working a ‘compressed working week’, whereby employees can work a longer day (eg. 10 hours) to complete their standard working hours each week across fewer working days (eg. 4 days). Employees receive a full salary to complete 100% of their working hours over a shorter number of days.

Countries such as Iceland and the UK are embracing alternative approaches to compressed working weeks. This model proposes a four-day working week according to the principle of ‘100:80:100’, where 80% of the work is done for 100% of the pay. This requires employee commitment that 100% productivity will be maintained.²


In 2022, about 20 businesses in Ireland participated in a 6-month pilot campaign to trial a: ‘Four Day Week Ireland’. The campaign advocated for a ‘gradual, steady, managed transition to a shorter working week for all workers, in the private and public sectors.” - Deirdre Malone, Partner, Head of Employment Law, EY Law Ireland


The sustainable impact of a reduced working week

Would a shorter working week lead to less production? Reframing of our consumption/production mindset is already occurring with the popularisation of economic models like the circular economy. UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 is to ‘ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns’, by doing more and better, with less.³ Sustainable consumption and production aims to apply life cycle thinking to achieve resource efficiency and the sustainable management of resources, as well as decoupling environmental degradation from economic growth and helping developing countries ‘leapfrog’ the inefficient and polluting phases of economic progress that we have seen historically.⁴

 

The concept of the reduced working week is that a reduction in working hours should reduce individual carbon emissions, as people with more leisure time will adopt less carbon consumptive habits. Ultimately, the less time employees spend working, the less they are forced to rely on quick and convenient solutions to everyday tasks. For example, workers would have more time to plan and cook meals, growing their own food or taking the time to buy locally, instead of stopping at supermarkets to buy preprepared meals or convenience foods, which incorporate multiple layers of plastic and are imported from different continents.

 

There will be less pressure to take convenient weekend flights to squeeze in a holiday, or to drive everywhere to meet tighter and tighter schedule demands. Instead, alternative forms of transport and active travel can be enjoyed. Studies have already shown that high income countries with shorter working hours are associated with lower carbon footprints and carbon dioxide emissions.⁵

 

However, such a shift would not be available or even desirable for all parts of the economy. While it may be feasible for sectors like finance, retail, and hospitality to reduce working hours in the near future, there is still a question for industries like healthcare, education, childcare and agriculture where service provision is likely to still follow more full-time requirements. Considering ways in which to make reduced working weeks work means thinking outside the box and employers being open to alternative ideas such as job-sharing.

 

Alternatively, the introduction of a reduced working week could create opportunities to promote initiatives in re-skilling and further education, for a return to basic homesteading skills, like gardening, sewing, and mending, but also on skills like growing crops and looking after livestock, updating and fixing tech, and developing community hospitals, childcare, and eldercare facilities. This would promote sustainable production and consumption models as workers would develop the skills required to fix or replace goods themselves and provide their own services, instead of purchasing the goods and services externally and creating excess waste.

 

The adoption reduced working week is highly likely to be a feature of our future economy, for a vast array of sectors and reasons.

Attracting talent has been challenging for businesses in Ireland over the last 3 years. Candidates applying for roles want to know what their work/life balance will look like before accepting a role. Retaining key talent has been similarly difficult with employees moving to more flexible roles. Money is no longer the sole motivator for moving job.

“With the enactment of the Work Life Balance Act earlier this year, Ireland has committed to supporting employees to achieve greater flexibility. Flexible working arrangements now has a statutory definition and means adjusted working hours or patterns, including working remotely, flexible working schedules or reduced working hours.” - Deirdre Malone, Partner, Head of Employment Law, EY Law Ireland



Summary

A reduced working week could be good for people’s wellbeing, mental health, sustainability and the environment. However, there will have to be careful consideration of what our populations and societies do with that extra time.

About this article

Contributors