Work hours and Triple Peaks in a Four-day Working Week
Working a four-day week and life after 9 – 5, used to be the stuff of daydreams for burnt-out employees but it’s rapidly becoming a consideration in countries around the world.
With tech giants like Microsoft adopting this style of working, 70 UK companies trialling a four-day working week, and SA corporates showing interest in experimenting with a similar arrangement if labour laws permit, the five-day work week may be on the way out.
Is a four-day working week a viable option?
Like every new development, this substantial change to the way we work comes with its own set of risks and benefits – especially for employees who got used to working remotely during the pandemic.
One of the major changes that returning to the office four days a week could bring about has to do with the triple peak productivity cycle that ensued when employees stayed at home juggling their domestic responsibilities with their work.
Let’s take a closer look at this phenomenon and what it could mean for the future of our working life in the context of a four-day week.
Triple peak productivity: what managers need to know
In the days when everyone worked 9 to 5, Monday through Friday in office, management experts noticed that the typical employee had two highly productive periods during the working day: before lunch and after lunch.
When the pandemic forced billions of workers to stay home and remain productive, these two peaks transformed into three.
- Employees became particularly active during 6 pm and 8 pm, at a time that’s been called the after-dinner surge third peak.
- With the family fed and the kids entertaining themselves or doing homework, many people find the evening to be a quiet and stress-free time to finish their work or plan their activities for the next day.

Illustration by Vallerio Pellegrini
Prior to the pandemic, expecting people to work between 6 and 8 pm may have raised a few eyebrows in some offices and even resulted in HR disputes.
With employees now having the flexibility to choose to do this kind of work after hours, businesses around the world are taking a deep interest in the third peak as a way to prevent productivity losses when shifting to a four-day working week.
Working better, smarter and less is productivity at its best with companies accepting that it’s no longer about how many hours you put in but rather about focusing on the outputs.
Autonomous workers go beyond 9-5
When things change it’s always a great opportunity to look back on the old ways of doing business and take stock of the improvements that we’ve made.
The traditional five-day, 9 to 5 working week that became the norm in cultures around the world was based on the notion of bringing people together in the office. The work hours were predetermined, and tasks assigned and scheduled to employees, ensuring that they did their work diligently and efficiently.
- While this system worked effectively for many decades, signs of flexibility were already working their way into the traditional workday over the past 20 years.
- Flexitime, performance bonuses, and management approaches embraced the unique working style of each employee under the premise that no one size fits all.
- In the early days of the pandemic, the flexibility of every company was suddenly put to the test as billions of people started to work from home.
During this time, employees learned to be extremely independent. A remote working environment meant they had to quickly adapt to implementing and completing tasks with their own sense of duty and conscience keeping them in check. This level of independence is something that managers want to keep intact as they transition back to the office – especially if the working week is going to be shortened.
What does a four-day working week mean for commercial property owners?
When a company adopts a four-day working week, it doesn’t mean that the office will only be open from Monday to Thursday.
Hailed as an “overwhelming success”, in Ireland, a long-running trial for shorter working ways has resulted in the majority of workers securing contracts that reduce their working hours while still maintaining and even increasing productivity.
While a four-day week won’t work for all sectors such as healthcare and emergency services, many employees are being given the choice of which days they would like to work. If this matches the requirements of management the commercial office space is likely to become a busier place than ever before, with people coming and going on flexible hours.
Business and Commercial property owners shouldn’t fear a shorter working week but rather see it as an opportunity to future-proof their premises by providing all the amenities that companies operating a flexible work schedule may need.
As companies collaborate with their employees in the most flexible way to ensure productivity, a landlord who is willing to show the same flexibility to re-negotiate tenant leases will benefit from high occupancy rates and reliable long-term tenants.
If you’re looking for perfect on trend, premium office space to redefine the way you do business this year, our team is on hand to assist. Contact us today to view our portfolio of commercial and industrial real estate in the Cape Peninsula.