60 U.K. Companies Tested a Four-Day Work Week, and Nearly All Are Keeping It

Pilot program testing a week-long workweek of four days in The United Kingdom It has been called a “supercomputer”. “resounding success” Employees reported feeling better and most companies participating said that they would continue to use the funds.

A total of 61 British firms with approximately 2,900 employees were involved in the trial. The employees worked on average 34 hours over four days, from June to December 2022. They also kept their salary.

56 of these companies (92%), decided to keep the four-day workweek after the six month trial. 18 of them did so permanently. 

The These are the results of this pilot program Autonomy, an American-based think tank, released the findings. It partnered with U.K. academics in order to conduct the study. 4 Day Week Global is a New Zealand-based campaign which advocates for a four day work week. 

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Young Black businesswoman in an office working alone on a laptop (iStock / iStock)

Participating companies came from many sectors and sizes. They were allowed to create a policy for four days a week that was tailored to their needs. The only restrictions were that employees weren’t paid less and that no pay cuts were made. “meaningful” reduction in work time. 

Employees’ well-being was improved by a shorter work week. Data from the before and after periods showed that 39% reported feeling less stressed while 71% reported experiencing lower levels of burnout. Respondents also reported feeling less anxious and fatigued, as well as sleeping better.

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The average revenue increase, weighted according to company size, was 1.4%, according to administrative data from participating companies. When compared to a similar period from previous years, organizations with a shorter work week actually reported revenue increases of 35% on average — which the study authors said indicated healthy growth at the same time there was a reduction in work.

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Robert Half, an employment agency in the United States, found that 93 percent of managers support a four-day workweek. The data indicates that 64% of managers expect their company’s transition to one within five years. (Robert Half/Fox News)

The data also revealed that employees were less likely to leave companies who participated in the trial program. Staff losses dropped by 57% during the six-month trial period.

“Results are largely steady across workplaces of varying sizes, demonstrating this is an innovation which works for many types of organizations,” Professor Juliet Schor, Boston College’s lead researcher, said. 

Some employees were so happy with the change that they spoke highly of it. Taking the extra day off Each week would be more important that a raise. 15% of employees stated that they would not be influenced by a raise if they had to go back to a five day work week.

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Companies with a four day work week reported that employees felt better about their mental health.  (iStock / iStock)

Charlotte Lockhart is co-founder of 4 Day Week Global and the managing director. She said that the results were encouraging. Similar pilot programs across the globe will also be coming soon.

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“Our team is delighted to be expanding the arguments in favor of a 4-day week today with this new world-class academic research, and we look forward to adding our Australasian pilot results to this data set in the coming weeks and our European, South African, Brazilian and North American results in the coming months,” She spoke.