Does the 4-day working week work in cyber?

The thirst for cyber talent and the pace at which the industry is rapidly growing no doubt calls for a better work/life balance, but is a 4-day working week the answer?

I have seen a wealth of firms adopting the ‘future of work’ 4-day working week model, which seems to be working for now. Although maybe not be a sustainable option but one that lays the foundations to ensure cybersecurity is up there as a sought-after career choice. Many businesses this year adopted the 100:80:100 model, 100% pay, for 80% of the time in return for 100% productivity. We have seen this new way of working shift the IT industry from a pool of burnt-out workers to a productive, work-life-balanced success. 

Is this the case in cybersecurity? Can those constantly monitoring and mitigating cyber threats take a day off? It shouldn’t be a fever dream for cybersecurity professionals, but unfortunately, it is; any time-lapse in vigilance can provide an opportunity for attackers. So, with that being said - what’s the answer?

If the past two years since the pandemic have proved anything, no organisation in any industry can avoid cybercrime; all companies are at risk, and that risk isn’t limited to working days or business hours. Sharp focus and a keen eye for spotting genuine threats are essential to successful protection, yet they cant always be guaranteed if workers are burned out and stressed. 

Organisations that have already moved to a 4-day working week have reported increases in performance and profit, benefiting from an increased attraction to potential employees and higher employee retention rates (things that our industry so desperately craves). With a skills gap increasing, cyber workers (and the industry as a whole) should also be offered a healthier lifestyle and benefit from the fruits of a 4-day working week.

Cybersecurity challenges can be automated through AI-powered endpoint protection and AML (advanced machine learning), allowing round-the-clock supervision of a company’s cybersecurity defence. Efficiencies can be made through AI and human backup. This of course, is a costly alternative. 

The advantages of AI and the benefits of outsourcing or augmenting your team with threat management experts alleviate the ongoing pressures of cyber surveillance to make a shorter working week viable, even for the most critical of businesses.

A BlackBerry study showed that, in half of the businesses, IT staff spend more than five hours a week administering and updating signature-based anti-virus solutions. Deploying AI-based solutions to automate signature-generation processes immediately reduces or eliminates this task, freeing almost a day a week in itself.

By outsourcing services and technologies to cyber security companies, cyber teams can partake in modern and sustainable work practices without compromising security. This definitely lends hope to the industry becoming a more attractive career choice.