Work is changing – and so are the working practices of some of the biggest companies. Virgin Money is adopting a flexible approach with a view to improving staff satisfaction, and trials of a four-day working week are underway in several countries. Here’s an overview of the trends driving these shifts.

1. THE FUTURE OF WORK: 4-DAY WEEK
AND PIONEERING IDEAS AT VIRGIN
MONEY

2. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Work is changing – and so are the working practices of some of the biggest
companies. Virgin Money is adopting a flexible approach with a view to
improving staff satisfaction, and trials of a four-day working week are
underway in several countries. Here’s an overview of the trends driving these
shifts.
THE FUTURE OF WORK: 4-DAY WEEK AND
PIONEERING IDEAS AT VIRGIN MONEY

3. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Work has changed immeasurably over the decades that I have been in the workforce, and I
am sure that 20 years from now, it will be unrecognizable from how it is today.
The concept of the “job for life” of my parents’ and grandparents’ generations is long-gone,
and the boundaries between activities that would be considered skilled or non-skilled,
professional or craftsman, and contractor, freelance or employed roles – are all becoming
increasingly indistinct. The average American millennial worker is three times more likely to
have changed their job within the past year than a worker in an older generation. Research
also shows that they are less likely to feel a bond of loyalty or attachment to the
organizations that currently employ them and more likely to feel “disengaged” from their
employers – prompting them to shop around for new opportunities.

4. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Throw in trends such as the “great resignation” – a phenomenon whereby one in five workers is likely to
leave their current employer during the next 12 months – and it's clear that organizations are
challenged like never before when it comes to retaining key people and talent.
Reactions and responses to these changing times have been mixed. We have seen CEOs in banking – as
well as senior government leaders – issuing stern warnings that subscribing to new-fangled ideas like
working from home are likely to damage both business metrics and the career prospects of those who
subscribe to them.
When this comes from those at the head of the workforce, it’s easy to think it might be due to an
unwillingness to relinquish the day-to-day, or minute-to-minute, control a boss has over their
employees’ time when everyone is obliged to be in the office during business hours.

5. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Are we actually more productive working from home? Studies into the question have had mixed
results – but what is clear is that we are happier and more satisfied when we have the choice.
As an example of a company that is taking a proactive approach to managing the changing
landscape of work, let's take a look at Virgin Money. At the start of this year, they launched a
program called A Life More Virgin, which it describes as “a values-led approach to flexible
working.”
All of its workers – including customer-facing, front-line store employees – have the opportunity
to work remotely at least some of the time. This includes adopting a “locationless” policy when it
comes to hiring, meaning staff have more discretion over when and where they work. An example
the company gives is of a store employee who travels at the weekend to spend time with their
child that lives separately from them. The employee was able to request that they work at the
store closest to their child on Fridays, meaning they spent less time traveling after work to see
the child.

6. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
The company formulated the policy shift following a detailed survey that involved soliciting input
from across its entire workforce, as well as 3,000 members of the public. This from-the-ground-up
methodology is refreshing to see in a world where we’re used to seeing initiatives devised by the
leaders and the c-suite based largely on their own ideas of what’s good for the wider workforce.
At Virgin Money it has involved making infrastructure changes to its offices, branches, and facilities –
with a number of commercial properties being shuttered and others converted into collaborative
workspaces. These have been refitted to accommodate new methods of working, including an
increasingly remote workforce with a need for hub facilities rather than permanent workspaces.
Another aspect of the initiative involves offering workers the option of taking up to five “wellbeing
days” over the course of a year. This practice of encouraging people to take more control over the
division of their working and non-working lives is mirrored in a wider experiment, the four-day week.

7. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Currently, this is being trialed in a number of countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, as well as the UK. There, 60 companies are set to adopt the new schedule between June and
December this year. Crucially, the trial is being treated as a scientific experiment, run in conjunction
with Cambridge and Oxford universities and Boston College. Workers taking part will be paid the
same amount of money as when they were working a five-day week and will not be expected to work
longer hours on the four days that they are on the job. During the trial, the effects on productivity, as
well as employee satisfaction and happiness, will be empirically measured. The aim is to finally
answer some questions that businesses and governments have been pondering since the Covid-19
pandemic led us to question whether there might be a better way of doing things.
Reducing the number of hours that employees spend on the job – whether in the office or working
from home – has the potential for a great many benefits – from improving personal wellbeing to
preventing burnout to encouraging the development of “soft” skill sets that may be best learned in
social and recreational situations.

8. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
It could also potentially allow people to begin the process of reconnecting with their
local environments – the neighborhoods, villages, or suburbs where they live – rather
than simply treating them as a place where they sleep. This could have the effect of
revitalizing local economies and encouraging us to spend more time engaging with
local democracy and governance.
Undoubtedly, this approach also brings challenges. There have been concerns raised
that flexible working arrangements sometimes make us feel more obliged to work
unsociable hours. It would certainly be a mistake for employers to feel that staff who no
longer have to make daily commutes to the office should in some way “repay” this
benefit by making themselves available at any time of day or night. Replacing an office-
bound existence with some form of “always-on” activity is unlikely to improve anyone’s
work/life balance in the long term.

9. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Studies are also ongoing into the mental health implications of many of today’s new
working practices – such as working from home – which are likely to differ
significantly depending on people’s individual situations.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that change is not only necessary – and long overdue – but
also has the potential to bring about a host of benefits. Realizing the benefits will
depend on it being managed correctly and implemented with an understanding of
what is hoped to be achieved, as well as clear communication on what is expected
from both the workforce and the organizations that employ them.

10. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
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That are Redefining Organizations, which has just won the Business Book of the
Year 2022 award.
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11. © 2021 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker,
futurist, and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments and
companies. He helps organisations improve their business performance, use data
more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as
artificial intelligence, big data, blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is
a frequent contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for
Forbes. Every day Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers
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