Sanjana Idnani
The world’s biggest trial of a four-day work week has begun this week in the UK. More than 70 companies and 3, 300 employees are participating in the trial.
The thousands of workers taking part in the study – which started on Monday – will work for four days a week, while still receiving full pay.
The programme, piloted by 4 Day Week Global, is aimed at measuring whether the productivity and wellbeing of staff over six months improve if they work a day less. Workers will be expected to deliver similar results as they do during a conventional five-day working week.
Who is involved in the work scheme?
Industries ranging from banking, to hospitality and animation are participating in the scheme. Academics from Oxford and Cambridge universities, as well as experts at Boston College in the US as they coordinate the experiment, are working in partnership with the think tank Autonomy and not-for-profit coalition 4 Day Week Global to monitor the potential effectiveness of a 4-day working week.
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Juliet Schor, a professor of sociology at Boston College and lead researcher on the pilot, described the scheme as a “historic trial.”
She added: “The four-day week is generally considered to be a triple-dividend policy – helping employees, companies, and the climate. Our research efforts will be digging into all of this.”
Lockdown Has Challenged Conventional Work Practices
Employers also feel that now is the time to reassess conventional working practices. Sam Smith, co-founder of Pressure Drop brewery in north London – which is one of the participating companies – told the BBC that ‘the pandemic’s made us think a great deal about work and how people organise their lives.’
“Government-backed four-day week trials are also set to start later this year in Spain and Scotland.”
Wyatt Watts, team leader at Platten’s Fish and Chips which has also joined the trial, has told The Guardian that the trial is already having a positive impact on their workers: “Morale has improved and we’re hoping that our productivity at work is going to be higher.”
The employers and workers in the pilot will have access to the expertise, tools, and resources such as workshops and mentoring that the researchers feel would be needed to run a smooth trial. The trial will run till the end of this year.
Government-backed four-day week trials are also set to start later this year in Spain and Scotland. With momentum growing behind the movement for a four-day week, the outcomes of these trials could pioneer a whole new attitude towards work.
Featured image courtesy of Brooke Cagle on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Sanjana Idnani
Sanjana is an English literature student at the University of Bristol and an aspiring journalist. She is particularly interested in writing about the arts, climate change, and inclusivity!