The debate over the four-day working week has gained significant momentum, with key figures such as Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the British Labor Party, supporting this model. She is understood to be consulting with trade unions and businesses ahead of new legislation due in the autumn.
Since April, workers have already had the right to ask for flexible working as soon as they start a job, but companies are not required to agree. The new legislation is expected to strengthen these rights. Last month, Education Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith spoke to LBC about plans to enable a four-day week model that would allow someone to work 10 hours a day for four days instead of working eight hours a day for five days. However, the practicality of this model across industries is a matter of ongoing debate.
Critics warn that some industries, particularly those that require high-intensity labor or continuous interaction with customers, may struggle with the reduction in workdays. Rayner herself recognized that careful planning and adaptation would be required to ensure that service quality and worker wellbeing are not negatively affected. Government ministers have made clear they have “no plans” to force businesses to accept a four-day working week.
Fabio Dias, co-founder and CEO of Stalwart Holdings, a fintech company in the field of personalized investment portfoliosrecently shared his insights on the feasibility of a four-day work week and how setting specific goals plays a critical role in making flexible work schedules effective, particularly in IP-driven companies.
Dias offers a unique perspective on this debate, grounded in the operations of Stalwart Holdings. Inspired by the business model of Coinbase Global Inc., the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States by trading volume, Dias structured Stalwart Holdings as a distributed, fully remote company, where the traditional 9-to-5 workday was discarded and replaced by a more fluid approach. At the heart of this approach is the strategic use of goals.
Its employees are not bound by a rigid 9-5 work schedule; instead, they enjoy the flexibility to manage their time, allowing them to balance work and personal life in a way that best suits them. This approach is rooted in the belief that productivity is not the number of hours spent at a desk, but the quality and impact of the work produced.
As a result, employees have the autonomy to choose when and where they work, as long as they respect their responsibilities and their results. This flexibility is a core element of Stalwart Holdings’ work culture, which reflects a deep trust in its employees to effectively manage their time and achieve results.
To ensure this flexible work environment runs smoothly and maintains productivity, Dias has established a routine of regular team meetings. These meetings, held three or four times a week, are the only regular appointments in the employee diary. During these sessions, team members gather to discuss ongoing projects, share updates on their progress, and outline future activities.
This regular communication ensures that everyone is aligned on company goals and that any challenges or obstacles are identified and addressed promptly. It also promotes a sense of teamwork and collaboration, even in a fully remote environment, helping to maintain a cohesive and motivated team.
Beyond these meetings, responsibility for managing the work passes to individual employees. Each team member is tasked with setting and achieving their own goals, which requires a high level of self-discipline and responsibility. This is where the concept of goal setting becomes critical.
“Instead of being micromanaged, employees can set their own work plans and schedules, focusing on what needs to be accomplished rather than simply clocking the hours. This approach allows employees to take responsibility for their work, encouraging them to be proactive and results-oriented,” says Dias, adding that it “also allows them to adapt their work habits to their personal strengths and preferences, which can lead to higher work results. satisfaction and better overall performance.”
To support this system, “we implement the SMART framework for goal setting, ensuring that each task or project is approached with clarity and purpose,” explains Dias. “Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) goals are set for each employee every Monday.”
These goals serve as clear goals for the week, providing direction and focus. By setting specific goals that are realistic and aligned with the company’s broader strategic goals, employees know exactly what is expected of them.
At the same time, the measurability of these objectives allows both the employee and the company to monitor progress, while the time aspect ensures that deadlines are met. The assumption is that this structured approach to goal setting not only boosts productivity, but also helps employees stay motivated and engaged.
Dias points out that these goals provide the structure and focus needed in an otherwise flexible work environment. “This model prioritizes results over hours spent at the desk,” he explains. “Employees are evaluated weekly on their performance. If someone doesn’t achieve their goals, they voluntarily change their plans to ensure they achieve their goals. Instead, exceeding these goals is rewarded with additional free time.”
Dias believes this purpose-driven model is particularly suited to industries that rely on intellectual property, such as fintech. “This model may not be successful for all companies,” admits Dias, “but it is very effective for companies that depend on intellectual capital. For these businesses, I would expect a targets-based model to be more effective than Labour’s proposed four-day week.”
However, Dias recognizes the limitations of the four-day work week in other industries as well. In industries where the work is physically demanding or involves constant interaction with customers, such as in manufacturing or retail, workers may struggle with the increased hours per day required to maintain satisfactory productivity in fewer of days.
“In these industries, workers may end up burned out by working longer hours every day,” notes Dias. “If people need to work fewer days for personal reasons and cannot stretch the hours they work into a single day without becoming fatigued, they also need to be realistic about their earnings expectations.”