It has been on the agenda for years that working four days a week can provide benefits such as increasing productivity by causing less fatigue to employees. The discussions on this issue have increased recently, with the COVID-19 pandemic and radical changes in the business understanding and environment.
For this practice, which has been talked about for years, the UK is now starting a six-month ‘work 4 days a week’ trial. During the trial, which will take place with the participation of 30 British companies, company employees will continue to receive the same salary as if they had worked for 5 days.
The four-day study model challenges the current study model
Of those who participated in the pilot, led by think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign, and 4 Day Week Global in partnership with researchers from Oxford University, Boston College and Cambridge University, only 80 percent of their time will now have an additional day off each week. They are required to provide 100 percent productivity.
Joe O’Connor, pilot program manager at 4 Day Week Global, said: “More and more businesses are switching to productivity-focused strategies to enable them to reduce worker hours without cutting wages. We are excited about the increased momentum and interest in our pilot program and the broader four-day week.” Stating that the four-day work week challenges the current working model, O’Connor states that 2022 will be the year that heralds this new working method.
The UK-led trial program will later be included in the US, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Companies named in the program include Canon, which offers employees of the tech firm a series of workshops, mentorship and networking opportunities to maximize the success of the pilot.
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