Atom Bank is moving staff to a four-day work week with no loss of pay, making the bank the UK’s largest employer by far a change from the traditional five-day week.
The smartphone-based bank, which employs 430 employees, is moving most of its staff from a 37.5-hour workweek spread over five days to a 34-hour four-day week, with the same salary every day. month. Employees are now encouraged to work “prime hours” from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with those choosing to switch from a five-day to a four-day week seeing their daily hours extended from 7.5 hours to 8.5 hours.
A small number of employees in Atom’s contact center are having another arrangement to ensure seven-day service, although they are also working shorter hours.
While some of the UK’s biggest companies, including Unilever and Morrisons, are testing a four-day week option for some employees, Atom has gone much further, making it the default arrangement.
With hiring rates soaring and employers grappling with severe skills shortages in some industries, many are increasingly looking to reward and retain talent by offering arrangements. working more flexibly, including shorter hours, as well as working from home.
Mark Mullen, 53, chief executive, says the new arrangements will make employees happier and healthier, will help retain talent and will promote environmental sustainability, while at the same time not working reduce the overall efficiency or output of the business. “A lot of the accepted wisdom about work turns out to be trash,” he says, noting that the five-day workweek is purely a construct of the 20th century. He says that There are a lot of managers in the workplace who fantasize about what really drives productivity: “If you can get everything done in four days as well as in five days, why be dogmatic?”
The Durham-based company said it had implemented “a robust review process, confirming that there would be no risk to operations or customer service”. The assessment also assesses “productivity, efficiency, available resources and impact on external partners and stakeholders”.
It said: “Monday or Friday is expected to be the default day off for most employees, with the exception of those working in operations and service roles whose out-of-office days may vary. change to ensure a constant and uninterrupted level of service for Atom customers. ”
Atom Bank started in 2016 as a branchless bank accessed through digital devices. It offers savings and mortgage products to consumers and small and medium-sized businesses that reported first-quarter profits. It has a floating target in 2022 or 2023.
Mullen says there will still be flexibility for employees who need it, such as parents carrying out school operations. The arrangement has been described as a three-month trial. But Mullen, who used to run HSBC’s First Direct Banking division, said: “This is not a test. We will not be returning. ”
