The world’s largest trial of the four day work week ended in February this year, with the majority of businesses opting to extend the trial or make the shift to a four day work week permanent. Could the four day week work for your business?
The 4 Day Week UK Pilot Programme: an overwhelming success
Nearly 3,000 UK workers began the 4 Day Week UK Pilot Programme in June of 2022, with participating businesses agreeing to commit to the changes for the next six months. Workers continued to receive their normal salary, but worked for four days a week instead of five. In February of this year, 56 of the 61 businesses extended the trial or made the change permanent.
According to 4 Day Week Global, the non-profit organisation who conducted the pilot, ‘Companies rated their overall experience of the trials an average of 8.5/10, with business productivity and business performance each scoring 7.5/10. Revenue rose by 35% over the trial periods when compared to similar periods from the previous year, and hiring increased while absenteeism decreased.’
4 Day Week Global also states that, ‘The health and well-being of employees also improved, with significant increases observed in physical and mental health, time spent exercising, and overall life and job satisfaction. Rates of stress, burnout and fatigue all fell, while problems with sleep declined’
What does this mean for businesses?
The results of this programme indicate that a four day work week without a reduction in pay has the potential to be a positive shift for both employees and management. Despite the suggestion from critics that productivity and output is negatively affected by a four day work week, the results of the programme suggest that this is not the case, with revenue significantly increasing for many businesses.
However, the four day work week is not without its limitations. For companies and organisations that offer customer service or 24/7 support, the transition to a four day work week could mean a reduced service for customers and clients. One of the smaller companies that took part in the trial reported a positive experience but also found it difficult to consistently take the day off; although it could be argued that a nationwide shift to a four day work week could counter these issues.
Could a four day week work for your business?
For organisations and companies considering a four day week, 4 Day Global suggests that businesses should research, communicate clearly with staff and employees and establish a policy that can be flexible depending on workloads, projects or customer requirements. 4 Day Global can also help businesses to find solutions where closing for an extra day a week simply isn’t possible.
If you’re interested in whether a four day week could work for your business, check out 4 Day Week Global’s white paper on how to implement a successful pilot. The paper features a number of case studies from different businesses in various sectors, as well as a step by step guide in how you could implement a trial of a four day week yourself.
Check out 4 Day Global’s Get Started Guide
