The results are in - four day working week successful
The findings suggest that a four day-week significantly reduces stress and illness in the workforce, and helps with worker retention.
Following the largest ever four day working week trial, the results are in and 92% of the companies who participated are sticking with the change with 18 confirming a permanent change. From June to December last year, 61 companies in the UK paid their employees the same wage despite fewer working hours.
The findings suggest that a four day-week significantly reduces stress and illness in the workforce, and helps with worker retention.
- Some 71% of employees self reported lower levels of “burnout”, and 39% said they were less stressed, compared to the start of the trial.
- Self-reported levels of anxiety and fatigue decreased across workforces, while mental and physical health improved.
- For some parents of young children, a midweek day off meant savings on childcare expenses. For those with older children, it meant some welcome ‘me time’. All reported doing more of the activities they already enjoy – from sport to cooking, music making to volunteering. Some developed new interests, while others used the time to get professional qualifications.
- Researchers found a 65% reduction in sick days, and a 57% fall in the number of staff leaving participating companies, compared to the same period the previous year.
- Company revenue barely changed during the trial period – even increasing marginally by 1.4% on average for the 23 organisations able to provide data.
- In a report of the results presented to UK lawmakers, some 92% of companies that took part in the UK pilot programme (56 out of 61) say they intend to continue with the four-day working week, with 18 companies confirming the change as permanent.
“Before the trial, many questioned whether we would see an increase in productivity to offset the reduction in working time – but this is exactly what we found,” said sociologist Prof Brendan Burchell, who led the University of Cambridge research. “Many employees were very keen to find efficiency gains themselves.”
“Workers were much less inclined to kill time, and actively sought out technologies that improved their productivity,” said Burchell.
Who Participated?
The research was run by the University of Cambridge, Boston College – a research organisation focused on the future of work called Autonomy, and the 4-Day Week Global nonprofit community. About 2,900 workers from 61 companies took part. Companies include non-profits, big finance, small manufacturers, IT, recruitment, hospitality, healthcare, small businesses and more.
Surveys and indepth interviews were conducted to identify whey companies were involved, how staff felt and what issues were uncovered. In addition to the survey work, designed in collaboration with colleagues including Prof Juliet Schor from Boston College, the Cambridge team conducted a large number of extensive interviews with employees and company CEOs before, during and after the six-month trial.
In terms of motivations, several senior managers told researchers they saw the four-day week as a rational response to the pandemic – and believed it would give them an edge when it came to attracting talent in the post-Covid job market.
Interviews documented how companies reduced working hours without compromising on targets. Common methods included:
- shorter meetings with clearer agendas
- introduction of interruption-free ‘focus periods’
- reforming email etiquette to reduce long chains and inbox churn
- new analyses of production processes
- end-of-day task lists for effective handovers or next-day head starts.
How did it work?
In the trail, staff were paid the same but had a ‘meaningful reduction in work time’. Here are the types o f changes being trialled:
- Fifth-day stoppage: The company shuts down for one extra day
- Staggered: Staff take alternating days off
- Decentralised : Different departments operate on different work patterns
- Annualised: Staff work a 32 hour average working week, calculated across the year
- Conditional: staff entitlement to the four day week is tied to ongoing performance monitoring
About a third of the companies opted to take Friday off.
