More than 3,300 workers at 70 UK companies, from a local fish and chip shop to large financial firms, are beginning a six-month trial of a four-day working week with no loss of pay. The pilot, organised by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with thinktank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week Campaign, and researchers from Cambridge, Oxford, and Boston College, is the world's biggest test of the new working pattern.
The trial follows the 100:80:100 model, where employees receive 100% of their pay for 80% of their time, in exchange for a commitment to maintain 100% productivity. Participants include Platten's Fish and Chips in Norfolk, Sheffield software firm Rivelin Robotics, London-based Stellar Asset Management, and Charity Bank in Kent.
Joe O'Connor, chief executive of 4 Day Week Global, said the UK is at the forefront of the four-day week movement. 'As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognising that the new frontier for competition is quality of life,' he said. Researchers will measure the impact on productivity, worker wellbeing, the environment, and gender equality.
Juliet Schor, lead researcher from Boston College, described the trial as historic. 'We’ll be analysing how employees respond to having an extra day off, in terms of stress and burnout, job and life satisfaction, health, sleep, energy use, travel and many other aspects of life,' she said. Wyatt Watts, a team leader at Platten's Fish and Chips, noted improved morale and hopes for higher productivity.
Ed Siegel, chief executive of Charity Bank, said the move to a four-day week is a natural step. 'The 20th-century concept of a five-day working week is no longer the best fit for 21st-century business,' he said. Government-backed trials are also due to begin later this year in Spain and Scotland.
