One year after 61 U.K. companies opted to participate in a four-day week pilot study, 89% of the companies continued to keep the structure in place.The 2022 study, conducted by the think tank Autonomy alongside the 4-Day Week Campaign and 4-Day Week Global, began as a six-month trial that has extended to the one-year mark and, in some cases, made permanent.
In a follow-up survey with the participating companies' managers and CEOs, 100% reported that the four-day week had a "positive" or "very positive" impact on their organization, according to the study.When researchers asked what the four-day structure had changed, 82% of surveyed companies reported positive impacts on staff well-being. 50% saw positive effects on reducing staff turnover and 32% said the policy had noticeably improved their recruitment, the study reports.
Looking to the future, a recent poll commissioned by the U.K. 4-Day Week Campaign found that 58% of the public expects the four-day workweek to be the standard way of working by 2030, according to the study. MORE: Majority of companies, employees say they want to keep 4-day workweek after trying it, study finds