Staff at a Welsh salon have been working a four-day week for the past two years without a pay cut and they are urging other workplaces to offer the same to their employees because they feel happier, healthier, and more relaxed.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic staff at Slunks salon in Cardiff have been turning up for work four days a week instead of five and the business’ co-owner is calling on the rest of Wales to follow suit.
Joel McCauley opened his own salon business more than a decade ago and was intent on doing things differently. With that in mind he set out a long-term plan to move to a shorter working week. This plan was accelerated due to outbreak of Covid-19 and how the virus changed the retail and business world.
Read more: Huge independent food hall to open in Cardiff's Capitol Centre
Since March 2020 all full-time members of staff at the city centre salon he co-owns in Morgan Arcade have swapped to a four-day week with no reduction in pay while part-time members of the workforce have had pay rises. The only members of staff working more than a four-day week are apprentices but they too will be offered the same benefit once they qualify.
“Covid-19 has been incredibly stressful for industries like hairdressing but it’s highlighted some of the issues that have always existed – you can be in a perpetual cycle: work, food, sleep,” said Joel, who lives in Newport.
“People don’t always realise but working in hairdressing can be extremely draining. I’ve worked in salons where we were worked like dogs. I’ve seen young people in the industry turn to drugs and alcohol because they’re exhausted and they don’t have the time to make changes to their life.
“Six-day weeks, back-to-back clients, moving from job to job because they have no time to think or plan what you’re going to do next. Anxiety is rampant in the industry and I’ve suffered with anxiety and depression and it can mainly be attributed to the amount of hours I was working. I got burnout.”
Joel said that he finds it frustrating that other workplaces are not as quick to offer staff a four-day working week and is imploring other employers to do more to benefit future generations of employees.
“This is simply a better, healthier way of working,” he added. “I genuinely think we aren’t meant to work full-time – how many people do you know who are constantly overworked and unhappy about it? When you have more time you can think about life in a different way. At work you’re likely to have more energy and fewer non-productive days. Outside work you can be a better person, a better parent, a better member of the community.
“Society isn’t working. The current system is broken and based on old-fashioned capitalism. Thanks to a four-day week, I feel better, staff feel better – we’re all working better. We’re making more money at busier times. Customers love it because they know we appreciate our staff. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to do things differently – to change the way we treat people, young people especially, and the way we set up society for people in the future – let’s take it.”
The salon’s manager, Chelsea Thompson, agrees with her employer and revealed that her week is less stressful due to a long commute that she now has to do less often.
“I live a 45-minute drive away from work so I’m commuting less and, when I’m in work, I’m definitely more focused,” said Chelsea, who lives in Tonyrefail. "Since we’ve started the four-day week everyone says they’re happier. People feel well-rested, mentally prepared.
“That extra day is for me. I go for long walks, listen to a podcast, see friends who don’t have weekends off. It’s sad that society has got to the point where people feel like they’re working to live. Time is precious – I really hope other workplaces follow and we can all start leading a more balanced life.”
Bradley Ashton, a graduate stylist from Cardiff who has worked at Slunks for more than two years, said he’s actually a calmer person due to having three days off a week rather than two.
"Having the extra day off helps me stay motivated in my personal life and with fitness, which really helps my mental state," said Bradley.
"I’m more motivated at work and I enjoy work a lot more. I’m not so tired and stressed which makes me feel better and I feel really positive at work and makes me want to do more. I have a Sunday and Monday off then I alternate my Tuesday and Wednesday off. I treat my Sunday and Monday days off as my weekend then I use the other day to get jobs done.
“It’s really helped me become a much calmer person and I’m a lot happier. I’m not as stressed as I used to be. I’m all-round happier in myself and better mentally. I definitely think my family and my partner have seen a big change in my mood since I’ve been on a four-day work week.”
The four-day working week currently in action at Slunks could soon be a reality across wider parts of Wales if the future generations commissioner has her way. Sophie Howe, whose role it is to protect the interests of future generations under Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act, has said the Welsh public sector could lead the way with a pioneering trial with people re-evaluating their life priorities following the pandemic.
According to a new report by the commissioner and a think tank called Autonomy there is a “major appetite” for a reduction in the working week in Wales. The report – A Future Fit for Wales: The Roadmap to a Shorter Working Week – also states that a move to a four-day week could potentially create thousands of new jobs.
“It’s clear that following the pandemic people across Wales are re-evaluating their priorities in life and looking for a healthier work-life balance,” said Ms Howe, who is calling on the Welsh Government to launch a shorter working week trial.
“The escalating demands of caring for loved ones due to an ageing population and an increase in mental health issues exacerbated by working long hours are just some of the factors which make a shorter working week more appealing.
“A shorter working week can result in increased productivity which will be of huge benefit to employers for a happier, healthier workforce. The working week has not changed for more than 100 years and now seems the perfect opportunity for the Welsh Government to commit to a pioneering trial and build evidence for greater change across Wales.”
Will Stronge, co-director of think tank Autonomy, said: “All the evidence suggests that a shorter working week with no loss of pay would be a win-win for both workers and employers in Wales.
“Countries across the world including Scotland and Ireland have already launched four-day week trials and a radical Welsh Government should be leading the way on this too. Moving to a four-day week would boost productivity and workers’ wellbeing and create tens of thousands of new jobs in the Welsh public sector. The potential benefits are too large to ignore.”
Around 30 companies in the UK are currently taking part in a trial for a four-day working week. Announced last month the six-month pilot has been launched by Four-Day Week Global in partnership with Autonomy, the Four-Day Week UK Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University, Oxford University, and Boston College. You can read more about that here.
Find jobs near you by using your postcode:
Following the commencement of the trial Wales-based insurance firm Admiral said they were “actively listening to what our colleagues are telling us about how they want to work in the future, so we are able to balance this with our customer’s needs”.
The company’s Rhian Langham said: “Wanting our people to have the freedom to define working arrangements that support their own needs and lifestyle isn’t a new approach for us – we have a wide variety of flexible working arrangements already in place across the business, including, but not limited to, a four-day working week.”
Meanwhile bosses at the Royal Mint, based in Llantrisant in Rhondda Cynon Taf, said they would “closely follow the trial to understand how it effects employees and businesses and will be keen to see the results”.
The idea of a four-day working week pilot specific to Wales was put to the Welsh Government who confirmed that some companies have already expressed an interest in working in such a manner in the future.
A spokesman for the government said: “We recognise potential benefits in a shorter working week and some businesses in Wales are already expressing an interest in moving in that direction. We are considering the progress of pilots in other countries and examining the lessons Wales can learn.
"A shorter working week is just one example of flexible working and through our social partnership approach we want to encourage more employers to provide workers with greater choice over where and when they work.”
What do you think about this story? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
