This bank moves to four-day workweek without cutting pay

Atom Bank has moved to a four-day workweek, one of the most dramatic flexible working policies introduced by a finance firm since the pandemic upended office norms.

The U.K. fintech, which has 430 employees, moved to a four-day week on Nov. 1, the digital lender said in a statement Tuesday. Contractual working hours will be reduced by 3.5 hours to 34 hours per week, with no change in salary.

Mondays or Fridays are expected to be the default day off for the majority of employees, except for those working in operational and service roles whose day out of the office may vary, to ensure customer service levels.

Read more: A new pilot program is helping U.S. companies transition to a 4-day workweek

“While we appreciate a four-day working week will not be right for all workplaces, the move to working from home has proved that working practices that may have seemed years away can be introduced rapidly,” said CEO Mark Mullen in a statement. “We firmly believe that this will prove beneficial for our employees’ wellbeing and happiness and that it will have an equally positive impact on business productivity and customer experience.”

Read more: Work less, feel better? The 4-day workweek tackles mental health challenges

Other lenders are also moving away from traditional ways of working. Banks like HSBC and Lloyds Banking are cutting office space as they let employees work some of their time from home.

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