Duh: Workers love a four-day workweek. And apparently, so do companies, per the results of the world’s largest pilot to date.
The study included ~2.9k employees across 61 UK organizations of various sizes and industries from June to December 2022.
Of those organizations, 92% have decided to continue with shorter weeks.
Where does this info come from?
New Zealand-based nonprofit 4 Day Week Global has been conducting pilots around the world, of which the UK study is the largest.
Workers agree to use a “100-80-100” model, which means they receive 100% of their pay for 80% of the time, but commit to 100% of the output.
Bloomberg notes that, while the studies are well-designed, they aren’t randomized because companies volunteer.
Now, the data
The pilot found consistent benefits across industries:
- Revenue rose by an average of 1.4%
- Staff turnover dropped by 57%
Employees apparently loved it, with 90% saying they definitely wanted to continue and 15% claiming no amount of money would motivate them to go back.
Employees also reported less burnout (71%), improved mental health (43%), greater satisfaction with their time (73%), and an increase in their abilities at work (55%).
Interestingly, women generally reported greater improvements, while men were able to contribute to their households more, including 27% who spent more time caring for their children.
What do people use the time for?
Not other paid work. Instead, they took on leisure activities, hobbies, and housework.
The latter may not sound fun, but one participant told CNN the “life-changing” model allowed her to get all her chores done on Friday and actually enjoy her weekend.
