UK: working four days a week on the same pay. Trial successful. Westminster discussing it today

More well-being, more productivity, more dedication to work. These are the benefits of a 4-day work week, according to the largest trial ever carried out in the world on this new work schedule. The pilot project ran from June to December last year and involved over 3,300 employees and around 70 UK companies, from small shops selling chips and fried cod to large financial firms. The initiative was promoted by the advocacy group “4DayWeekGlobal” and by researchers from the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and the Boston American college. Employees were guaranteed the same wage they were earning when they were working full-time, but were asked to spend one day less in the office while also maintaining the same levels of productivity. Both employers and employees attended training courses to learn how to work better on their new reduced schedules. Two months after the end of the project, the majority of participating companies decided to continue with the new schedule because employees said they were less stressed and the number of sick days decreased by two-thirds. The results of the trial are being presented today to MPs in Westminster, who may decide to extend the 32-hour work week to all UK companies.
Silvia Guzzetti