Four-day week trial ends and some firms make it permanent (2024)

When Joe Dance was offered the chance to earn his full salary by working just four days a week, he was sceptical.

"I thought, I'm so used to working five days. How are we going to deliver the same service for clients if we're not there?" the consultancy worker said.

But during a six-month trial where 3,000 people worked fewer hours for 100% pay, the new dad found his productivity improved.

The experiment ended today and the results will be shared next year.

The four-day week trial involving 70 UK companies kicked off on 6 June and is thought to be the world's biggest pilot scheme into the working pattern.

It's not about cramming five days' work into four. Instead workers are earning 100% of their salary for 80% of the hours they would normally do. The aim is to be more productive.

It has been organised by a group campaigning for a shorter working week but without any loss in wages.

Researchers from Oxford and Cambridge Universities and Boston College are overseeing the experiment along with the think tank Autonomy. The full results are not expected to be published until February next year.

But at the halfway point in September 86% of companies taking part said the four-day week was working well and they were likely to keep it.

Mr Dance said: "I've kind of eaten every single one of my words purely because, you know, it's actually made us better."

The 30-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent, works as an Ecology Associate for Tyler Grange, an environmental consultancy firm with six offices in England.

The 80 or so employees do not work on a Friday but still get paid 100% of their salary.

"It's forced us to be more pragmatic, more proactive and manage our time more effectively, in other words focusing on the most time critical work," Mr Dance said.

He said he used his day off to spend time with his baby son as well as do some volunteering with a local programme helping to reintroduce water voles into the wild.

"It's not exactly restful, but it's wonderful. Having a newborn was part of the reason I decided to give it such a good go. Because once that time is gone, you don't get it back," he said.

Fridays are now "sacrosanct", and Joe said he would really struggle to go back to a five-day working week.

He is in luck as his employer has now decided to make the four-day week permanent.

"It's worked so well I'd be pretty crazy not to keep it," said managing director, Simon Ursell. "We're 101% productive in 80% of the time."

He added: "We look at an individual's productivity and as a consultancy we charge clients by the hour. So we've been measuring how much our staff are able to charge for their time...and it's been a fairly dramatic rise."

He said it meant unproductive meetings were quickly canned. "Everyone just wants to get on. If we'd been on a five day week, the meeting would've just carried on, because you fill the time you have."

What's more, Mr Ursell, has been measuring his team's wellness via an alertness app and said his employees are 18% less tired and 10% happier than before.

The business has also seen a more than five-fold increase in people enquiring about vacancies.

"My theory on this is that if you give someone a great reward or a really good incentive to do something, they're going to try really hard. And I can't think of a better incentive than time," he said.

Mr Ursell said many months of preparation before the pilot was key, as was the decision to effectively close the business for one day a week instead of having split rotas, a move which he acknowledges won't suit every business. He also lost two members of staff who didn't want to move to reduced hours.

  • Firms in four-day week trial will make it permanent

Skincare business 5 Squirrels, based in Brighton, has also made the decision to work fewer hours.

"We're far, far, more productive," said Gary Conroy, founder and CEO

He has re-jigged their working day so there are periods when staff don't chat, answer calls or respond to emails - instead the 14 strong team get their "heads down" on focused work.

"It's had a major impact on the amount of stuff we can get done," says Gary.

Like Tyler Grange, they also don't work on a Friday and they ran a "pre-pilot" before making the big switch.

At Pressure Drop Brewery in Tottenham, North London, not all workers are able to take the same day off as they have to keep the beer flowing and get the orders out.

It hasn't always been easy to manage but even so the benefits do outweigh the challenges, said co-founder, Sam Smith.

"We're happy with how it's gone. The main issue we've had is that we haven't really been able to stress test it properly in a full pelt environment...because the last six months haven't been great economically in terms of the environment," he said.

His staff have given it the thumbs-up. Office manager, Clare Doherty, says it's been "fantastic".

"I'm now expecting a baby so it means I've been able to schedule all my appointments on my day off. It's given me that extra little bit of space for planning and organising," she said.

The brewery is going to continue with the four-day week as a trial for another 12 months.

"We're anticipating a difficult year next year. And that, kind of, frankly, is occupying our thoughts and attention a lot more than the four day week is," said Mr Smith.

At the end of last month, the 4 Day Week Campaign Group separately announced that it had signed up more than 100 companies and organisations for a four-day week without cutting any workers' pay. The scheme launched at the beginning of 2021.

It's still a tiny percentage of workers, but they hope it's the start of a fundamental rethink in how we work. We'll find out early next year how many of the 70 companies taking part in the trial will make the switch, too.

Four-day week trial ends and some firms make it permanent (2024)

FAQs

What were the results of the 4-day work week trial? ›

Most of the UK companies that took part in the world's biggest ever four-day working week trial have made the policy permanent, research shows. Of the 61 organisations that took part in a six-month UK pilot in 2022, 54 (89%) are still operating the policy a year later, and 31 (51%) have made the change permanent.

What are the arguments for and against 4-day work week? ›

Pros of a 4-day work week can include cost savings, increased productivity, and employee retention. Some disadvantages, however, can include scheduling challenges, reduced productivity, and added stress.

Which companies are trialling 4 day weeks? ›

7 inspirational examples of businesses with a four-day week (and what you can learn from them)
  • Atom Bank. In November 2021, the app-based lender became the UK's biggest employer to trial a four-day week. ...
  • Earthly. ...
  • JMK Solicitors. ...
  • London Landmark Hotel. ...
  • Scoro. ...
  • Sensat. ...
  • Thryve Talent.
May 29, 2024

What are the results of the 4-day work week productivity study? ›

When researchers asked what the four-day structure had changed, 82% of surveyed companies reported positive impacts on staff well-being. 50% saw positive effects on reducing staff turnover and 32% said the policy had noticeably improved their recruitment, the study reports.

Will the US ever go to a four-day work week? ›

Is the U.S. on the cusp of a big shift to four-day workweeks? No. Of the 482 managers at firms that don't currently offer four-day workweeks, two-thirds said there is no chance their firms will offer them by the end of 2024. The other one-third say the chances are only 16 percent, on average.

Why stop at the four-day workweek? ›

First, especially if employers are dictating the terms, four-day weeks could simply come to mean cramming the same amount of work time into fewer calendar days, like working four 10-hour days. That might suit some people's preferences. But for others, it's a road to more burnout, not less.

Who benefits from a 4-day work week? ›

Pilot studies in countries including the U.K., Spain, Portugal, and South Africa suggest that shorter workweeks can help employees reduce burnout, manage stress, get more sleep and exercise, spend additional quality time with loved ones, and feel all-around happier and healthier.

Why the 4 day week doesn t work? ›

Three reasons why the 4-day work week won't solve burnout long-term: It doesn't address the core issue of how we work, just how many days we do it. Eliminating Fridays does not solve the issue of constant interruption, and days full of meetings, emails, messages, pings, and texts.

What are the criticism of 4-day work week? ›

Critics argue that many employees could end up working longer hours on the four days they are in the office, which could negate the benefits of an extra day off. In industries where customer service and client interactions are crucial, a four-day work week might pose challenges.

How many hours is a 4 day work week? ›

Variations. Most advocates for a four-day working week argue for a fixed work schedule, resulting in shorter weeks (e.g. four 8-hour workdays for a total of 32 hours). This follows the 100-80-100 model: 100% pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintain at least 100% productivity.

Is 4 day work week legit? ›

Participants reported more efficiency, happier employees, lower turnover rates, and they have seen so many long-term benefits. Every single participant reported that the four-day workweek had a positive or very positive impact on their organization!

Which country wants a four-day work week? ›

Belgium became the first country in Europe to legislate for a four-day week. In February 2022, Belgian employees won the right to perform a full workweek in four days instead of the usual five without loss of salary.

How does a 4 day work week affect the economy? ›

Results from a 2022 six-month four-day week trial promoted by campaign group 4 Day Week Global and involving 61 companies in the UK showed that they saw an increase in their average revenues, while 71% of employees reported a decrease in burnout, according to a report.

What are the results of the 4 day week? ›

Over the six-month trial period, stress and burnout for employees both significantly declined with 71% of employees reporting lower levels of burnout. Reported levels of anxiety, fatigue and sleep issues decreased, while mental and physical health both experienced improvements.

Does a 4 day work week increase profits? ›

Our research has shown revenue increases up to 35% for a six-month pilot of the four-day work week, when compared to a similar financial period. Revenue continues to improve for longer trials of the four day work week, proving its not just a short-term phenomenon.

What were the results of the Iceland 4 day work week study? ›

In all, 2,500 employees were able to reduce their work schedules to 35 or 36 hours per week rather than 40. Crucially, salaries remained the same. Several people interviewed by the researchers said they found slack time to cut out of their schedules by truncating workplace meetings or eliminating a few entirely.

What were the results of the Sprint trial? ›

SPRINT provided a major contribution to high blood pressure research. It ended early and its findings were shared when it was clear that treating to the lower target of less than 120 mm Hg reduced cardiovascular events and saved lives in all participants, including those who had CKD.

What were the results of the Arrive trial? ›

After the ARRIVE trial, there was no immediate change in adverse perinatal outcomes, but a statistically significant increase in trend of adverse perinatal events (1.03; 95% CI 1.01–1.05) when compared with a declining trend observed in the pre-ARRIVE period.

What was days trial score? ›

Day didn't fail his Trial. Not even close. IN fact, he got the same score I did: 1500/1500. I am no longer the Republic's only prodigy with a perfect score.” In the novel, it was common …show more content…

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