Six-month trial of a four-day working week to be launched in the UK

More than 30 companies will take part in a trial of a four-day working week to “herald in a bold new way of working in 2022”, researchers say.

The global pandemic has impacted how long and where people work with Working From Home guidance giving an opportunity to experiment with normal work life.

Research suggests 78 per cent of employees with four day working weeks reported being happier and less stressed.

The six-month trial will attempt to measure whether workers can operate at 100 per cent productivity for 80 per cent of the time.

Employees will be paid for the same amount as if they were working five days a week.

The pilot is being led by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and researchers at Oxford University, Boston College, and Cambridge University.

Joe O’Connor, pilot programme manager for 4 Day Week Global, said: “More and more businesses are moving to productivity focused strategies to enable them to reduce worker hours without reducing pay.

“We are excited by the growing momentum and interest in our pilot program and in the four-day week more broadly.

“The four-day week challenges the current model of work and helps companies move away from simply measuring how long people are “at work”, to a sharper focus on the output being produced. 2022 will be the year that heralds in this bold new future of work.”