https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/four-day-workweek-trial-proved-so-successful-many-uk-firms-will-retain-it-as-new-policy-1107682103.html
Four-Day Workweek Trial Proved So Successful Many UK Firms Will Retain It as New Policy
Four-Day Workweek Trial Proved So Successful Many UK Firms Will Retain It as New Policy
Sputnik International
Newly released study results have suggested it might finally be time to implement a four-day work week after a trial revealed the shift provided major benefits to general productivity and employee health.
2023-02-22T01:28+0000
2023-02-22T01:28+0000
2023-02-22T01:28+0000
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Newly released study results have suggested it might finally be time to implement a four-day work week after a trial revealed the shift provided major benefits to general productivity and employee health.The trial, which took place in the United Kingdom, involved nearly 3,000 employees and was organized by the not-for-profit group 4 Day Week Global (alongside the research group Autonomy and researchers with Boston College and the University of Cambridge).Some 61 British businesses including banks, fast-food restaurants and marketing agencies participated in the trial.Analyzing the study findings, officials determined the businesses found a sharp decline in the number of employees wanting to quit, while about 46% of companies said their business productivity remained the same, and 34% reported a slight improvement in productivity. Another 15% of employers reported a significant improvement in productivity.One company, Trio Media, reported a 47% increase in revenue from the year-earlier period. The chief executive of the company, Claire Daniels, said she would continue the trial for another six months before making a permanent switch, but added she didn’t “see [the company] going back to a typical five-days-a-week model.”Overall on a scale of 0 (very negative) to 10 (very positive) employers scored the productivity and performance of their employees at 7.5 after six months of a shortened workweek. At least 18 businesses from the study said they planned to make the shorter workweek permanent, while 56 of the 61 companies said they would continue testing the shortened work shifts even after the trial ended.Just three companies said they would not pursue a shortened workweek.“At the beginning, this was about pandemic burnout for a lot of employers. Now it’s more of a retention and recruitment issue for many of them,” explains Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College whose team helped conduct the study.A separate study from October 2021 found that in a survey of over 1,000 Americans, 98% of respondents said a four-day workweek would improve their mental health, nine out of 10 people said that a five-day workweek was outdated and almost 80% of respondents said the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged their desire for a shortened workweek.Three out of four respondents in that another study also said they would consider leaving their current job if they were offered a position with a four-day workweek. And a Gallup Report from 2019 revealed that high turnover rates cost US businesses $1 trillion in voluntary turnover per year.Opponents argue that a shortened workweek would not be suitable for every field of work including child care and health care, both of which are experience widespread staff shortages as nurses in England have gone on strike after struggling to secure increased wages from their government.
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workweek, trial, us firms, new policy
Four-Day Workweek Trial Proved So Successful Many UK Firms Will Retain It as New Policy
It's one of the largest trials to put a four-day workweek to the test. The non-profit firm invited companies to either shorten their employees’ workweeks by giving them one day a week off or reducing their work hours to 32 hours per week, while still paying their employees the same salary or wage as before the trial.
Newly released study results have suggested it might finally be time to implement a four-day work week after a trial revealed the shift provided major benefits to general productivity and employee health.
The trial, which took place in the United Kingdom, involved nearly 3,000 employees and was organized by the not-for-profit group 4 Day Week Global (alongside the research group Autonomy and researchers with Boston College and the University of Cambridge).
Some 61 British businesses including banks, fast-food restaurants and marketing agencies participated in the trial.
Analyzing the study findings, officials determined the businesses found a sharp decline in the number of employees wanting to quit, while about 46% of companies said their business productivity remained the same, and 34% reported a slight improvement in productivity. Another 15% of employers reported a significant improvement in productivity.
One company, Trio Media, reported a 47% increase in revenue from the year-earlier period. The chief executive of the company, Claire Daniels, said she would continue the trial for another six months before making a permanent switch, but added she didn’t “see [the company] going back to a typical five-days-a-week model.” Overall on a scale of 0 (very negative) to 10 (very positive) employers scored the productivity and performance of their employees at 7.5 after six months of a shortened workweek. At least 18 businesses from the study said they planned to make the shorter workweek permanent, while 56 of the 61 companies said they would continue testing the shortened work shifts even after the trial ended.
Just three companies said they would not pursue a shortened workweek.
About 15% of employees who participated in the trial said that “no amount of money” could convince them to return to a five-day workweek, as employees reported better sleep, lower stress levels, and improved personal lives and mental health.
“At the beginning, this was about pandemic burnout for a lot of employers. Now it’s more of a retention and recruitment issue for many of them,” explains Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College whose team helped conduct the study.
A separate study from October 2021 found that in a survey of over 1,000 Americans, 98% of respondents said a four-day workweek would improve their mental health, nine out of 10 people said that a five-day workweek was outdated and almost 80% of respondents said the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged their desire for a shortened workweek. Three out of four respondents in that another study also said they would consider leaving their current job if they were offered a position with a four-day workweek. And a Gallup Report from 2019 revealed that high turnover rates cost US businesses
$1 trillion in voluntary turnover per year.
Opponents argue that a shortened workweek would not be suitable for every field of work including child care and health care, both of which are experience widespread staff shortages as nurses in England have gone on strike after struggling to secure increased wages from their
government.
