Four-day week: the Manchester firm which has made Fridays off a permanent fixture

An environmental consultancy in Manchester has permanently adopted a four-day working week after the huge success of a sixth-month trial period. Tyler Grange employees have had the luxury of taking Fridays off every week since last May without having to work any additional hours on top of their regular 9-5 hours or experiencing a pay cut.

The company’s ‘Alertness App’ has been tracking data since the trial began to work out whether a three-day weekend benefits both staff and the business. The app tracked employee’s happiness, fatigue and productivity as well as talent attraction, retention and absenteeism.

The data collected by Tyler Grange showed their staff were 14 % happier and 28 % less tired since working a four-day week and the company itself noticed an 88 percent increase in the number of CVs it was receiving.

The environmental consultancy, which is based near Deansgate, is producing 102 % more work in four days than it did in five, so we went down to ask them why the four day working week is so successful and why they think other companies should adopt the same strategy.

Tyler Grange managing director Simon Ursell said: “The UK has an unhealthy culture where it is seen as a badge of honour to work all the time, yet our productivity levels are low and younger talent – as well as the brilliant talent that we want to attract at all levels of our business - doesn’t want to be defined by a burn-out life.

“One study shows that burnout is cited as one of the top three reasons for why young people are leaving their jobs. Almost half of Gen Zers (ages 19-24) and 24% of millennials (ages 28-39) said they feel burned out due to their work environments.

Mr Ursell said change is uncomfortable and transitioning to a new four-day week has provoked some negative responses he believes is due to people’s fear of change.

“We believe that making the four-day week permanent is the right thing to do, even if it’s seen as disruptive.”