"Change The Week"

6 June 2022

3 mins 43s

To good to be true?

The UK has seen this week the launch of the biggest trial of the four day working week. This excellent short film written by Damian Le Bas and directed by Ian Pons Jewell uses animation created by a number of inspiring artists from around the world including Pia Graff; Amanda Bonaiuto; Alex Jenkins and Juan Carlos Roberto; Matteo Dang; Dal Park; and Cheng-Hsu Chung in a highly engaging way to help viewers digest a plethora of evidence, and share important information about the benefits of a potentially revolutionary change.

The model for the four day week uses the ratios, 100:80:100; Workers are paid 100% of their salary, only work 80% of the week but maintain 100% of their old output. “Not possible!” we hear shouted from the dinosaurs at the back. The loudest being Elon Musk... whom, it can be gleaned after his recent email ordering workers back to the office for a minimum of forty hours a week, is not a supporter of any reduction in hours worked.

If the Tesla chief can take a time out from sabotaging his own bid to buy Twitter, he should watch this film. He'd witness a highly persuasive argument that an increase in hours worked doesn’t usually equate to more productivity. This is because "time is what we make it!"

A compelling case is made using supporting data, including that collected from recently conducted US trials which concluded that the four day week has all kinds of benefits.

And not just for workers - if the policy works as it should, it benefits everybody and that includes companies, and the environment.

Employees are happier and enjoy a better work/ home life balance, reduced costs, reduced time working or commuting and therefore have better energy levels and will have more time for their families and make healthier lifestyle choices.

Companies will see an increase in profits due to energy and office space cost savings. They also gain a more committed workforce who are less likely to call in sick.

And, lastly, the environment benefits from the large reductions in emissions due to fewer workers commuting, and less office energy consumption. For example, in a study carried out over a ten month period in Utah, CO2 emissions were reduced by 6,000 tonnes.

It may seem like an extreme idea to some, but as the film points out, the concept of ‘the week’ is man-made and has shifted over time, as well as meaning different things according to the culture of those determining it. The recent pandemic has shown us that humans are incredibly adaptable and more than capable of significant change when required, so maybe it’s time for more of us to benefit from working smarter... not longer.

This was a real passion project with everybody doing as much work as possible for as little money as possible (with many operating pro bono), and, as well as the personnel already named, Ian Pons Jewell had asked us to acknowledge the huge contribution made by producers Emmanuelle Le Chat and Jackson Forsythe, and this we gladly do.

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