Four-day working week backed by 86 per cent of companies in landmark trial

20 September 2022, 16:42

The four-day working week has been backed by an overwhelming majority of companies involved in a UK trial, with the "incredibly encouraging" scheme set to be made permanent for many.

More than 70 organisations signed up for the six-month trial, which kicked off at the beginning of June, with more than 3,300 employees getting a paid day off weekly throughout the trial.

Companies taking part include IT company Happy, book-themed gift shop Bookishly and a local fish and chip shop in Norfolk.

Having reached the halfway mark, firms responded to a brief internal check-in survey, in which it was revealed that 88% found the trial was working 'well' for their business.

Just under half (46%) of respondents said their business productivity had 'maintained around the same level', while 34% said that it had 'improved slightly', and 15% say it had 'improved significantly'.

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Joe O'Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, said: "The organisations in the United Kingdom pilot are contributing real-time data and knowledge that are worth their weight in gold.

"Essentially, they are laying the foundation for the future of work by putting a four-day week into practice, across every size of business and nearly every sector.

"We are learning that for many it is a fairly smooth transition and for some there are some understandable hurdles – especially among those which have comparatively fixed or inflexible practices, systems, or cultures which date back well into the last century. 

"While for most organisations the pilot prompts many pleasing discoveries and outcomes – a lot of businesses have more flexibility and nimbleness among their people and teams that leaders often know at the outset – there is friction for others, and this can be based on a variety of factors, many of which can be addressed or substantially improved in the pilot itself.

"4 Day Week Global and our partners are supporting these businesses to ease their transition to a flexible work model, and using the findings to inform the process for many more businesses to trial, adapt, and reap the benefits of emphasising productivity over time – thereby transforming the world of work for all of us."

It comes after the trial started off on a rocky foot, with some companies questioning whether they will continue with the scheme when the pilot ends in December.

The nationwide six-month trial was designed to see if a shorter work week would result in higher productivity and better employee health, as well as making roles more attractive to jobseekers.

However, some companies argued that many others across the world were still operating under a five-day week, making the scheme challenging.

Another difficulty was staff taking different days off.