By Four-day working week trial launched across UK businesses
A four-day working week trial has been launched across around 30 UK businesses for the next six months.
The pilot scheme will examine whether a shorter working week will result in heightened motivation and productivity for employees.
During the trial, participants will be paid the normal five-day rate.
A six-month trial period of a four-day working week has today been launched across the UK.
4 Day Week Global launched the pilot alongside think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and researchers from Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College, ITV reported.
Joe O’Connor, pilot programme manager for 4 Day Week Global, reportedly 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.”
According to Metro, the companies involved will also receive workshops, mentoring, networking and access to world-class academic research.
The aim is not only to improve productivity, but to also improve the wellbeing of workers, the impact on the environment and gender equality.
According to reports, when Microsoft trialled a four-day working week in Japan, their productivity went up by 40 percent.
Brendan Burchell, professor in social sciences at Cambridge University, reportedly said: “With the social and environmental benefits of the shorter working week becoming clearer, grassroots support more widespread, and technology available to maintain productivity, the time has come for more organisations to take the leap and unravel the practicalities.
“This scheme has tremendous potential to progress from conversations about the general advantages of a shorter working week to focussed discussions on how organisations can implement it in the best possible way.”
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