MTC to offer four-day week to staff

The decision to trial the new approach followed an in-depth review of flexible working options, in response to employee feedback.

“We’ve been operating flexible working patterns since April 2018, but employee engagement surveys have shown that staff wanted to extend this further,” said Vicki Sanderson, MTC’s HR director.

“We explored a range of options, including researching what was important for millennials and generation Z, as 79 per cent of our workforce fall into these categories. Work-life balance was the priority, and our survey results reflected this.”

Starting in April 2020, the Fully Flexible Working Week trial provided a flexible working arrangement, including a four-day week to approximately 615 employees.

Consequently, 83 per cent of employees reported that they were happier, 42 per cent said their energy levels had increased, and 40 per cent experienced improvements in their mental health, according to a staff survey. An external evaluation carried out by Loughborough University found that the reaction from employees had been ‘overwhelmingly positive’ and was an incentive for new recruits.

“The positive impact on staff was evident,” said Sanderson. “After 12 months of the trial, 96 per cent wanted the Fully Flexible Working Week to be adopted permanently, and these changes have had a direct impact on improving the mental and physical wellbeing of our employees, while improving business productivity.” 

Following the trial, the MTC will make its flexible working policies permanent from September for all 820 employees, with no reduction in salary. The MTC will now work with industrial partners, including Rolls-Royce, Siemens, and Meggitt, to share data and the lessons that have been learnt from the trial.

“We know that in manufacturing especially, it’s very difficult for some roles to be offered flexibly, for example, the opportunity for more home working. But other ways to do this should be considered, and our study has proved this is possible,” said Sanderson.

The trial also found environmental benefits to flexible working, with MTC calculating that 664 tonnes of carbon would be saved annually from all employees making one fewer journey to work each week.

Several companies are currently taking part in a six-month trial to assess the benefits of a four-day working week. The pilot, which ends in November, is being coordinated by a global 4-day week thinktank along with academics from Oxford, Cambridge, and Boston (USA). In June 2022 The Engineer ran a poll which found 64 per cent of participants favouring a four-day week.