Evaluate theory and practice in the fields of flexible working and organisational resilienceIllustrate your answer with examples and reference to published research.

Pointers for students: 

Why the
current drive to a four-day week and who is proposing this change?

Critically
review the research evidence that a four-day week produces positive outcomes.
The outcomes commonly include:

•     
Enhanced Employee Well-being and Engagement:

•     
Increased productivity and creativity:

•     
Improved Work-Life Balance

•     
Improved ability to recruit and retain staff.

Studies by
Lutter (2020) and Rodriguez (2021) suggest that the feasibility and impact of a
fourday working week might vary across sectors and cultures due to differences
in operational requirements, customer expectations, and work norms. 

What
arguments to the researchers make in explaining the link between the four-day
week and these positive outcomes? 

There are,
however, also indications that the downside may outweigh the advantages,
including: 

•     
Potential Decrease in Output and Customer
Service:

•     
Financial Implications and Costs:

•     
Sectoral and Cultural Variances: the feasibility
and impact of a four-day working week might vary across sectors and cultures
due to differences in operational requirements, customer expectations, and work
norms.

What
arguments to the researchers make in explaining the link between the four-day
week and these negative outcomes?

Given your
reading of the evidence, and potentially your own experience of a four-day
week, when do you believe it is most likely to be effective, and when is it
more likely that the disadvantages will outweigh the advantages.  

Reading material ( see attached document)

Read Chapter 12: Flexibility. Taylor, S. and
Perkins, G. (2021) Work and Employment in Changing Business Environment

Overcoming
the challenges of flexible working (cranfield.ac.uk)

Advantages
and disadvantages of flexible working –
Springhouse
Solicitors (springhouselaw.com)

Deep
Dive: The hidden problems of flexible work –
and
how to avoid them post–Covid
–
CMI (managers.org.uk)

flexible–working–case–studies_tcm18–58762.pdf
(cipd.co.uk)

The
realities of the four–day
workweek –
BBC
Worklife

The
four–day
week: Employer perspectives | CIPD

Three–quarters
of UK employers say four–day
week will be the norm by 2030, survey reveals (peoplemanagement.co.uk)

Four–day
week: ‘major breakthrough’ as most UK firms in trial extend changes | Work–life balance
| The Guardian

The
results are in: the UK’s four–day
week pilot –
Autonomy