In June of this year, more than 70 organizations began their six-month trial period of a four-day work week in the UK. This pilot program, led by the 4 Day Work Week coalition, aimed to study the impact of UK companies reducing their work weeks from 40 to 32 hours per week for all employees, with no alterations to their compensation or benefits.
This experiment is the largest four-day work week campaign to date. Across participating organizations, there are more than 3,300 employees who are currently working four days per week, effectively getting paid for a day off every week according to their pre-trial salaries.
And at the midway point of the pilot program, new reports have revealed promising results for the future of the four-day work week.
Many companies plan to continue the four-day work week after the pilot concludes.
Throughout the trial period, leaders of the program have been gathering data from participating companies, aiming to identify trends in how well traditional businesses adopt to a seemingly massive shift in their workplace policies. As you’ll see below, the results have been largely positive: not only has the transition been smoother than expected for most organizations, but many say they want to continue operating with a four-day work week for the foreseeable future.
Here are some statistics from 4 Day Work Week Global’s latest report:
- 88% of respondents stated that the four-day work week is working ‘well’ at this stage in the trial.
- Rating the smoothness of transition to a four-day work week on a scale of 1 to 5 (with ‘1’ being ‘extremely challenging’ and 5 being ‘extremely smooth’), 29% of respondents selected ‘5’, 49% selected ‘4’, and 20% selected ‘3’.
- 88% of respondents said that at this stage of the trial, their company is ‘extremely likely’ or ‘likely’ to consider continuing a four-day work week policy after the pilot program concludes.
Productivity has actually increased during the four-day work week trial period.
The largest concern surrounding the four-day work week trend is an obvious one. If employees are working a full day less than usual per week, won’t that have a major negative impact on productivity?
Well, that question is one of the most significant ones the Four Day Work Week coalition aimed to address with their pilot program. And the results are surprising enough to sway even the most ardent skeptics:
- 46 % of respondents say that their business productivity has ‘maintained around the same level.’
- 34% say that productivity has ‘improved slightly.’
- 15% say it has ‘improved significantly.’
These figures point to the increasingly apparent correlation between business productivity and employee wellness. A number of studies have found that employee happiness and productivity are directly linked – and the results of the four-day work week program only reinforce those findings.
Claire Daniels, CEO of participating company Trio Media, says: “The four-day week trial so far has been extremely successful for us. Productivity has remained high, with an increase in wellness for the team, along with our business performing 44% better financially.”
Of course, there are a number of variables still to be studied when it comes to the wide-scale feasibility of a four-day work week. But this experiment is part of a larger movement that’s been happening since the pandemic: a reimagining of what “productive” work really looks like. The notion that “hours spent working” is the most important metric to determine “quality of work” has grown increasingly outdated. As more and more organizations show a willingness to participate in trials like the Four-Day Work Week campaign, we’ll continue uncovering even more insightful data about what the future of work truly looks like.
