Despite advances in technology, many of us are still working approximately the same hours a week as people worked 100 years ago.
Professor Brendan Burchell, University of Cambridge, and Dr David Frayne, University of Salford, investigated the impact of reduced hours on productivity and staff wellbeing. Their work was part of the world’s largest trial of a four-day working week to date.
The qualitative research was part of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit). It also provided insights into what motivates companies to reduce working time and how it can be implemented practically and equitably.
The UK pilot, instigated by 4 Day Week Global in conjunction with the UK’s 4 Day Week Campaign, involved 61 UK organisations. The organisations committed to a 20% reduction in working hours for all staff for six months without any reduction in pay. Findings revealed that a four-day week significantly reduced stress and illness in the workforce and helped with worker retention, with no loss in productivity.
Alongside the positive impact on the organisations involved in the pilot, the vast majority of which have maintained the four-day working week, the research boosted interest in wider business and political domains.
The team is now working on public sector pilots with a local authority in England and the Scottish Government, as well as informing a potential trial for the Welsh Government. It is also advising international governments, including Sweden and the US.
About the project
The pilot was conducted from June to December 2022 with organisations spanning sectors, from online retailers and financial service providers to animation studios and a fish-and-chip shop.
Project partners from Boston College in the US analysed quantitative survey data, while Professor Burchell and Dr Frayne conducted in-depth interviews at intervals throughout the trial. Their interviews were conducted with a sample of employees and CEOs from the 61 organisations taking part.
Professor Burchell explains:
There have been four-day working week pilots before, but this was the first to include a major qualitative component. The interviews provided insights into the impact on work culture and wellbeing for staff, and gave us a greater understanding of why and how businesses were implementing these changes.
The ‘four-day working week’ took different forms, with some companies stopping work completely for a three-day weekend, while others staggered their workforce over a week or cut time from each working day.
The research provided rich data on how companies made such changes work on the ground, says Dr Frayne:
It revealed ways companies were successfully reducing working hours without compromising productivity, such as using technology or having shorter meetings. We also looked in a critical way at the methods of implementation, judging whether a policy was fair and inclusive, or affected security at work.
Impact of the project
Professor Burchell and Dr Frayne’s research on the four-day working week pilot has led to improvements in employee health and productivity for the organisations taking part. It has also had a significant impact in public, business and political domains.
Improving employee wellbeing
Just under 3,000 workers took part in the pilot, and 90% wanted to continue with the four-day working week at the end of the trial. The results also showed:
- more than two thirds reported lower levels of ‘burnout’
- 39% said they were less stressed
- 40% reported fewer sleep difficulties
Many said they found it easier to balance work with both family and social commitments. 60% of employees found an increased ability to combine paid work with care responsibilities, and 62% reported it easier to combine work with social life.
A CEO of a consultancy organisation involved in the trial, says:
When you realise that day has allowed you to be relaxed and rested, and ready to absolutely go for it on those other four days, you start to realise that to go back to working on a Friday would feel really wrong – stupid actually.
Benefiting organisations
The research found reduced hours brought benefits to organisations as well as their staff. There was a 65% reduction in sick days and a 57% fall in the number of staff leaving the organisations.
Company revenues barely changed during the trial period. They even increased marginally by 1.4% on average for the 23 organisations that were able to provide data.
Of the 61 companies involved, 56 were still operating a four-day week a year after the pilot.
Organisations reported that their trial prompted further pilots among clients and partners, and this ripple effect is also moving into the public sector, says Professor Burchell:
We are actively engaged in a large trial with South Cambridgeshire District Council which includes all their staff, from office workers to refuse collection. The data clearly shows that they are better able to meet their key performance indicators, fill vacancies and save hundreds of thousands of pounds on agency staff.
Attracting the attention of governments worldwide
Whereas working time reduction was an obscure idea as little as five years ago, Professor Burchell and Dr Frayne believe the pilot has played a significant role in making it credible at a policy level.
The pair are now regarded as key contacts for governments interested in working time reduction. They have led briefings in the House of Commons and the Senedd, and are informing a public sector pilot in Scotland.
They also have provided advice on potential pilots of four-day working weeks to:
- Wales
- Sweden
- Belgium
- South Africa
- the US
Dr Will Stronge, Director of Research at the Autonomy Institute, which coordinated the pilot, says:
[Professor Burchell and Dr Frayne’s] analysis generated a map of topics and questions that will no doubt be built on in all future shorter working week pilots. [Their] efforts following the pilot were important in achieving the overwhelming reach of this work, which has been reported globally and generated significant momentum around work time reduction policies – both in organisations and at the government level.
Find out more
Read the UK’s four-day week pilot report (Autonomy Institute).
Watch the video Making the case for a four-day working week (YouTube).
Top image: Credit: Delmaine Donson, E+ via Getty Images