Most UK companies participating in a project to test the 4-day workweek said they would keep the work schedule after the trial phase ended.
More than 70 companies are participating in the project, in which employees worked 80% of their normal working hours while maintaining the same pay. Started three months ago, the project should last another three.
Preliminary data show that, so far, productivity has been maintained or improved in most companies.
However, some more traditional companies say the change is “complicated”.
The test is being carried out by 4 Day Week, a group campaigning for a shorter workweek, along with research institute Autonomy and researchers from Cambridge and Oxford universities.
“We’re learning that for many it’s a very smooth transition and for some there are some understandable obstacles — especially among those who have comparatively fixed or inflexible practices, systems or cultures that date back to the last century,” says Joe O’Connor, chief executive of 4 Week Global, which is running the scheme in several countries.
Of the 73 companies in the test, 41 companies responded to a preliminary survey. About 86% of respondents said they would stick to the four-day-a-week policy after the test ended.
Most companies said the change is working well for their business, while 95% said productivity remained the same or improved with the shorter week.
More than 3,300 employees are receiving one paid day off per week during the trial period.
4 Day Week says employees have benefited from lower travel costs and less spending on childcare or babysitting – it said workers with two children would save about £269.36 a month.
“A four-day week with no pay cut could be crucial in supporting workers’ lifestyles for years to come,” Will Stronge, research director at Autonomy.
Big change
The company Waterwise, which campaigns to reduce the amount of water used in the UK, is one of those participating in the trial. According to the company, its team took a while to get used to, but is now “very happy”.
“It wasn’t just flowers at first,” says Waterwise Managing Director Nicci Russell. “But no big change is. Some weeks are easier than others, but we’re handling it a lot better now than we were at the beginning.”
“We certainly loved the extra time off and went back to work refreshed. It’s been great for our well-being and we’re definitely more productive already,” says the director.
The UK trial is part of a global project that includes trials in the US, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
This text was originally published here.
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