More than 1,000 staff test if four-day week really works

Seventeen more British businesses — and their 1,000 workers — are to test a four-day working week for the next six months, starting immediately.
Crate Brewery in Hackney, east London, and the British Society for Immunology (BSI) are among those to take part in the second large trial set up by the 4 Day Week Campaign. Despite working for only four days, workers will not be paid less.
The previous trial in 2022 yielded “overwhelmingly positive results” with 56 of the 61 businesses that took part opting to carry on with shorter weeks.
Employees reported a better work-life balance and less stress and fatigue. The “vast majority” of companies reported no hit to performance.
The 4 Day Week Campaign will collect data about staff morale, productivity and burnout between now and the end of April. It will present the figures to the government in the summer. Researchers from Cambridge University, the Autonomy Institute and Boston College, Massachusetts, are also involved.
The previous government described the four-day working week as “part-time work for full-time pay” but Labour has suggested it is open to the concept. Last week Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, said flexible working was “no threat to the economy”.
“With 50 per cent more free time and no loss in pay, a four-day week gives people the freedom to live happier, more fulfilling lives,” Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said.
Georgia Pearson, people manager at Crate Brewery, said that taking part in the trial “feels somewhat groundbreaking” for a hospitality business. “Although we’ve never struggled with retention, we recognise the competitive advantage that comes with being ahead of the curve,” she said.
Doug Brown, chief executive of the BSI, hopes that the staff who take up the option of a four-day week will “improve their work-life balance, making us an even more attractive employer”. He cautioned, however, that it was “vital the quality of service we provide is maintained”.
Close to 200 UK businesses are accredited by the 4 Day Week Campaign as having moved permanently to a four-day week.
A survey of 2,000 people by Owl Labs last summer showed 6 per cent of full-time workers were already working four days a week. This suggests that 1.5 million employees of the UK workforce are already on four-days weeks.