Involvement & Participation Association
Who are IPA?
Making the case for engagement
Training for managers
Training for representatives
Speak at events
Evidence & Research
Employee voice
Working with TUs
IPA Membership
Individual registered supporters
Become a research partner
Is Thursday the new Friday? The future of working time and hopes for a four-day week
Debate around a four-day week in the UK has been gathering momentum over the last two years. A century of working time reductions in Britain has stalled since the 1980s but public appetite for a shorter working week has not gone away. With the UK facing a decade-long productivity crisis, concerns about presenteeism and a fear that a lot of time spent at work is unproductive, questions are now being seriously asked about whether it is time to push for more working time reductions.
Proponents of a four-day week argue it could provide a major boost to the UK's productivity, help to reduce carbon emissions, provide more time for family and community care and volunteering as well as promoting wellbeing and quality of life for employees. The Trades Union Congress has taken up the campaign and the Labour Party appears keen to adopt the four-day week as a key policy item for its
next manifesto.
Case studies of a number of firms, particularly the widely-cited Perpetual Guardian case in New Zealand, have raised awareness of the issue and demonstrated that a four-day week is possible and can come with real benefits, including the much sought-after productivity boost. However, significant barriers remain for many firms around the complexity of implementing such a policy; particularly for those in customer-facing or public service roles where a four-day week would require the hiring of many more workers if continuity of service was to be maintained. Overcoming such challenges will be key if the dream of a four-day week is to become a reality for many in the coming years.
Updated: 27th November, 2019
Author: Patrick Brione
News in Brief End 2019
A summary of this month's employment news.
Wages and profits rise or fall, but shareholders always win
Luke Hildyard from the High Pay Centre discusses their latest research, looking at shareholder returns. They find a picture of consistently rising shareholder returns, a trend which seems to continue even amid falling corporate profits and flat or falling real wages at some companies - a clear warning sign for the UK's corproate ownership and governance regime.
Election Aftermath – Where next for UK employment regulation?
As the dust settles on the 2019 general election and the end of a year of unprecedented chaos and uncertainty, IPA's Patrick Brione looks ahead to 2020 and what the year may hold for the future of employment regulation in a post-Brexit world.
News in Brief October 2019
New technology and the world of work: the winners and the losers
Building on previous research, this latest policy report by IPA and Acas looks at the likely winners and losers from the new wave of technology and automation affecting the world of work.
Forces of Change: Innovation and Engagement in UK Policing
This report looks in detail at how well UK police forces have managed change and innovation over recent years. It explores how engagement levels have fared during times of austerity, how forces can achieve a culture of innovation from the ground-up and what lessons there are for the change management process.
High-involvement design: the time has come
This report by Professor Stephen Wood outlines a new approach to management termed high-involvement design, putting employee involvement back at the heart of HRM where it belongs. Combining involvement at both the task or role level with involvement at the organisational or strategic level creates a better workplace environment for all, improving employee well-being, organisational productivity and fostering a sense of shared understanding and learning.
Working Well for Yourself: What makes for good self-employment?
This report seeks to address the question 'what makes for good self-employment'? Building on the wider debate about good work – sparked by the publication of the 2017 Taylor Review of Modern Employment Practices – we set out to uncover what exactly makes for good work for the UK's 4.8 million self-employed.
MTR Crossrail and ASLEF: Partnership in Action
The IPA was delighted to have been asked by ASLEF and MTR Crossrail to undertake a case study of the partnership working relations established by company and union to underpin the success of London's new Elizabeth line. The working relations developed and sustained over the last few years are an inspiring example of working together to achieve mutual gains and joint wins – of meeting challenges, of building joint relationships and an architecture for problem solving.
Working Well: Perspectives on Good Work and why it matters
To coincide with the government's response to the Taylor Review, the IPA have produced a report which draws together 16 expert perspectives on what Good Work means in modern Britain, why it is important and how to bring it about.
Manufacturing Productivity and Engagement
In response to the challenge of how the UK's productivity gap might be addressed across major sectors of the economy, the Productivity Leadership Group asked IPA director, Nita Clarke OBE, to look specifically at how productivity in the manufacturing sector might be improved. This a report of her findings.
Tune in to temps: how employers and recruiters can support agency worker voice in the workplace
This report by IPA and REC examines how to provide engagement and voice for agency workers, through two case studies of best practice in the industry.
Mind over Machines: New technology and employment relations
This report examines the relationship between the introduction of new technology into the workplace and employee wellbeing, autonomy, voice and engagement. IPA for Acas, 2017.
Uncertain times: the need for new thinking on workplace relations in Britain
Over the past decade the UK workforce has already undergone rapid changes and evidence points to an accelerating pace of change in the coming years. Between Brexit, the growth of new workplace technologies and the accompanying rise of atypical working and the 'gig economy' it is clear that traditional assumptions about labour relations are rapidly becoming obsolete.
Employee voice exists, whether you recognise it or not. The only question is – "are you listening?" The benefits of employee voice for organisations are explained and alternative forms of voice structures explored in this article, which also includes a look at what makes a system of employee voice effective.
The IPA is the UK's leading organisation delivering new ways of working based on employee participation, collaboration and trust.
Nita Clarke OBE
IPA Director
This training programme focuses around how to use the four key enablers of employee engagement - a strong strategic narrative, engaging managers, employee voice and integrity - to move from a purely transactional approach to engagement to a genuinely transformational one.
Every workplace is different, so every project we undertake is individually developed by our professional and experienced team, and delivered based on the needs and circumstances of the client.
Employee engagement is seen by a growing number of organisations as a key issue in measuring employee attitudes, managing the behaviours of management, developing operational and human resource policies, and establishing a strong employer brand. Find out more about what engagement is, the four enablers of engagement, the work of Engage for Success and what the IPA can do to help your organisation boost the engagement of its employees.
Working Well: preview of IPA publication on good work
On 8th February, IPA will be launching our report on Good Work, to coincide with the government's response to the Taylor Review. This publication draws together 16 expert perspectives on what good work means, why it matters and how to bring it about.
The real impact of the EU on UK employment law
The UK is set to have a referendum on 23 June on whether or not to remain a member of the European Union. In this article, Rachel Suff, Public Policy Advisor at CIPD discusses how 'the world of work might be affected' if the UK voted not to remain in the EU. She highlights that a large part of the UK employment law is derived from the EU and that a vote to leave the EU could allow the review or repeal of legislation that came out of EU directives.
Involvement & Participation Association (IPA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under number 648436 and registered as a Charity number 200468
Registered office 2nd Floor West Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA