Four-day week trial planned for this autumn

An increase in hybrid and remote working and a desire for a better work-life balance have changed expectations around where and when people work.

One possible solution is a four-day working week across the workforce, giving employees more time for rest, leisure and family activities as well as 'life admin' tasks like shopping and cleaning.

Switching to a four-day week, with no loss of pay, can actually increase productivity and reduce business costs while enabling businesses to attract and retain employees who are happier and less stressed and take fewer sick days.

A second pilot of employees working a four-day week is scheduled to launch across the UK this autumn, following the success of the first such initiative in 2022.

Campaigners hope that the new Labour government will be more receptive to changes in how people work than the former Conservative administration.

What did the first pilot find?

According to the 4 Day Week Campaign, almost every company that took part in the previous UK pilot decided to continue with a four-day week.

Of the 61 companies that participated, 54 still had the new working arrangements in place a year and a half later.

A report on the findings showed that over the six-month trial period, stress and burnout for employees both significantly declined with 71% of employees reporting lower levels of burnout. Reported levels of anxiety, fatigue and sleep issues also decreased, while mental and physical health both showed improvements.

Another positive outcome for employees was a better work-life balance: workers found it easier to balance their work with both family and social commitments, and were more satisfied with their household finances, relationships and how their time was being managed.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of companies were satisfied that business performance and productivity were maintained after switching to a four-day week. Companies' revenue stayed broadly the same, rising by 1.4% on average.

There was a substantial decline (57%) in the likelihood that an employee would quit, dramatically improving job retention, and the number of sick days fell by 65%.

Other forms of flexible working

This time, the pilot is being broadened to include organisations that would like to experiment with other forms of flexibility such as a shorter working week, flexible start and finish times, a nine-day fortnight or compressed hours, when people work the same number of hours but over fewer days.

The 4 Day Week Campaign and flexible working consultancy Timewise are inviting organisations to sign up for a November start, with training workshops starting in mid-September.

Findings will be presented to the government in summer 2025, based on data collected and analysed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, Boston College and the Autonomy Institute.

'Win-win for workers and employers'

"With a new Labour government, change is in the air and we hope to see employers embracing this change by signing up to our pilot," said Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign.

Describing the four-day week as a potential "win-win for workers and employers", he added: "The nine to five, five-day working week was invented 100 years ago and is no longer fit for purpose. We are long overdue an update."

Claire Campbell, chief executive of Timewise, told the Guardian that the organisers wanted to see more "site-based, shift-based workers sign up because this is where innovation is needed most", adding that a four-day week "will benefit worker health and retention".