It’s been a year since the start of the world’s largest 4-day week experiment.
This first-of-its-kind intriguing operation is being transpiring in many UK companies, with the perception that a condensed work week in organisations will see a rise in productivity and efficiency of employees as well as having a positive impact on their well-being, and recruitment.
Is the 4-Day Work Week Here Forever?
The four-week long pioneering trial made waves across the UK from June to December 2022 involving researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Boston College, and the British think tank Autonomy.
The results indicate that a majority of the participating companies have chosen to continue with the shortened schedule. This unprecedented demonstration had employees at 61 companies across Britain maintained an average workweek of 34 hours spread across four days.
The results, published Wednesday by think tank Autonomy, states that among the 61 organisations, an impressive 89% have officially affirmed their continued adherence to the four-day workweek model. Furthermore, 51% of all participants have established the four-day week as a permanent and ongoing feature of their work structure.
Of all the participants, a significant people were workers from the service sectors such as technology and marketing, people from manufacturing and construction firms also did appear in minority.
Hence, this experiment has been proven efficacious throughout vocations and as more companies adopt this model, we can see more definite and conclusive results.A subsequent study conducted a year later provides insights into the lingering impact of the four-day workweek. The study provided effective inferences about the policy’s influence on employee well-being, turnover rates, and recruitment endeavours.
The Results are In!!
The interpretations of the study data revealed :
- 89% sustenance: Out of 61 participating organisations, 54 (89%) are still following the four-day week policy after one year, with 31 (51%) making it permanent.
- Positive impact: The success of this proposition was proven when the managers and CEOs reported a ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ impact of the four-day week. 82% firms witnessed an improved employee well-being, 50% noticed reduced staff turnover, and 32% experiencing enhanced recruitment.
- Sustained benefits: An offshoot survey with staff from 47 pilot firms observed enduring improvements in physical and mental health, work-life balance, and overall satisfaction, alongside an abatement in burnout and increased job satisfaction.
- Practical insights: The interviews shed light on the maintenance of four-day week policies, revealing adjustments to meeting norms, communication practices, and work prioritisation.
- Strategic approaches : To uphold these policies, organisations adopted strategic amendments in meeting norms and work prioritisation being key components.
- Policy Concerns: Employees in less committed policy implementations were anxious about unsatisfactory guarantees for the additional day off, affecting their ability to plan activities. The report noted that less committed forms of the four-day week policy left employees with reduced ability to plan activities on their day off.
- Leisure Activity: Qualitative feedback emphasised consistent themes in hobbies during the extra day off, such as focusing on care responsibilities, pursuing hobbies, and attending to chores, contributing to the enhancement of quality weekend time.
- More Deadline Stress?: However, certain staff members experienced stress to meet deadlines, fostering resentment towards others, and generating feelings of inequity based on the nature of their role. Additionally,
Better Employees’ Holistic Wellbeing
The author of the report, Juliet Schor who is a sociology professor at Boston College, concluded the one-year results as “excellent.” She emphasized that the findings demonstrated the tangible and enduring positive effects of shorter working hours.
“Physical and mental health, and work-life balance are significantly better than at six months. Burnout and life satisfaction improvements held steady.
Job satisfaction and sleep problems nudged down a bit, but the bulk of the original improvement remains.”Schor said in a statement.
Will Stronge, the director of research at Autonomy declared that virtually every company we’ve spoken to has decided to stick with the four-day week.
He added, “The improvements in physical and mental health, work-life balance, and general life satisfaction, as well as the reductions in burnout found at the end of the trial have all been maintained one year on.”
