After 4-Day Workweek Trial, Some Employees Said 'No Amount of Money' Could Make Them Go Back to Working 5 Days The experiment proved to benefit stress levels, sleep, and mental health.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
In July, about 3,000 workers across 61 different companies in the United Kingdom embarked on the largest four-day workweek trial in the world. The six-month trial was organized by nonprofits 4 Day Week Global and 4 Day Week UK Campaign along with researchers at the think-tank, Autonomy.
Now, as the six-month trial comes to an end, the results proved to be widely beneficial to both workers and employers:
- Overall revenue across the companies rose by 35% when compared to the same period last year.
- Employee rates of stress, burnout, and sleep problems reportedly declined, while health and well-being improved.
- Additionally, there was a 57% decline in the likelihood that an employee would quit — and a 65% reduction in sick days.
"There are also some interesting differences," said Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College and the study's lead researcher, in a statement. "We found that employees in non-profits and professional services had a larger average increase in time spent exercising, while those in construction/manufacturing enjoyed the largest reductions in burnout and sleep problems."
Related: Is the 4-Day Work Week Better? Evidence Points to Yes.
The majority of the companies that participated in the trial chose to extend or permanently implement the four-day week (92%), while only 4% reported no plans to extend or continue.
Many of the employees who participated in the trial reported such an improvement in their quality of life that 15% said "no amount of money" would make them go back to working five days a week.
"Across a wide variety of different sectors of the economy, these incredible results show that the four-day week with no loss of pay really works, Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said in a statement. "Surely the time has now come to begin rolling it out across the country."
