The world’s largest trial of the four-day working week has proven a major success, which could spell great news for our future work/life balance.
The six-month pilot saw 61 companies across the UK cutting hours to 80% while keeping salaries the same, with over 2,900 employees taking part.
Amazingly, 56 of these businesses (92% of participants) have extended the four-day week – and 18 have even made it permanent.
A recently-released report on the scheme, which took place between June and December 2022, claims that the benefits to worker wellbeing are ‘extensive’.
Employees were surveyed before and after the trial: 71% reported lower levels of burnout as a result, 39% said they were less stressed, 40% were sleeping better, and 54% said it was easier to balance work and home responsibilities.
Workplaces benefited too with sick days dropping by two thirds and staff were 57% more likely to stay with the company. Productivity also remained stable in most cases, and companies’ revenue rose by 1.4% on average.
Findings from the scheme (organised by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the thinktank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College) will now be presented to MPs, in a push for parliament to consider a nationwide roll-out of a 32-hour week.
Among the businesses who participated in the experiment were chip shops, financial services firms, online retailers, and animation studios.
Victoria, 37, joined the pilot through her job at Citizen’s Advice Gateshead, where she’s worked for the last five years. She said the new working arrangement has allowed her to spend more time with her two children, one of whom is disabled.
‘Our eldest son has complex needs and routine means everything to him,’ Victoria explained. ‘Knowing that the children have quality time and reassurance of routine with me, means I have had a weight lifted and I can be really focussed on work.’
She added: ‘It is working so well, and I am feeling really productive, consistently hitting my weekly target.’
Additionally, chief operating officer Paul Oliver, 48, commented: ‘We’re really pleased with the results so far. In the months following the launch of the trial our sickness levels went down and staff retention levels went up, bucking the trend shown by other similar organisations recently.
‘It feels like it’s really making a difference in so many crucial ways. Staff are getting more work done in less time and overall working more efficiently and effectively.’
Alongside promising statistics, it’s hoped that these responses will help convince lawmakers to make changes.
Dr David Frayne, research associate at University of Cambridge, said: ‘We feel really encouraged by the results, which showed the many ways companies were turning the four-day week from a dream into a realistic policy, with multiple benefits.
‘We think there is a lot here that ought to motivate other companies and industries to give it a try.’
It’s been over 100 years since the introduction of the five-day working week. These results may just be the catalyst to bring our jobs (and overall wellbeing) into the 21st century.
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