Pilot study on the 4 day week also launched in Switzerland

Non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global has conducted several pilot studies on the 4-day week worldwide with local support. Now Switzerland is joining in: The first pilot study will be launched this year in a collaboration between internationally active NGO 4 Day Week Global, Zurich-based consultancy Hailperin, and Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH). The first companies have already expressed their interest in taking part in this pioneering study.

Companies are increasingly facing the challenge of finding and retaining new employees in a competitive labor market. At the same time, companies are looking to increase productivity wherever they can. As a result, stress and strain are increasing, which can lead to absenteeism and high healthcare costs. One possible solution to this growing issue is the 4-day week. In countries such as Iceland and the UK, it has already been successfully introduced in many companies and has shown positive effects on productivity as well as the health and motivation of employees.

The non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global, the Zurich-based consultancy Hailperin, and Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) are conducting a pioneering study to investigate whether the 4-day week can also be a successful working model for the Swiss labour market. Together, they are conducting the 4 Day Week pilot. 

Is the introduction of the 4-day week feasible in Switzerland?  

This study aims to scientifically investigate the effects of the 4-day week on companies and their employees. It aims to show whether the 4-day week can also be successfully implemented in Swiss companies. In an initial phase, the participating companies will receive various tools, metrics and information and will be supported by experts from Hailperin Consulting. During the six-month test period, the participants will introduce the 4-day week, accompanied by researchers from the New Work Institute at Bern University of Applied Sciences. The 4-day week is understood as a reduction in working hours with the same salary.

Launch events in Zurich and Bern 

To gain an insight into the study and learn more about the potential benefits of the 4-day week, two information events will be held for interested parties:

April 10, 4-6 p.m. in Zurich, Karl der Grosse, Kirchgasse 14  

April 17, 4-6 p.m. in Bern, BFH Wirtschaft, Effingerstr. 47  

There will also be an opportunity to discuss the issue with experts and representatives of the trade unions and employees. There will be an opportunity for informal discussions over drinks afterwards.  

Further information and registration for the two events can be found on the website www.4-tagewoche.ch and LinkedIn. 

About 4 Day Week Global: 4 Day Week Global is a multinational coalition of businesspeople, academics, researchers and authors collaborating to make the productivity-focused flexible work model of the 21st century a reality. It is the culmination of the movement established after the successful 4-day week trial at New Zealand trustee company Perpetual Guardian.

About Hailperin: The Zurich-based consulting firm Hailperin supports organizations and companies in human-centered development. The focus here is on redesigning working methods so that employees can fully contribute and develop and profitability is optimized. One way of doing this is to support the introduction of the 4-day week.   

About Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH): Bern University of Applied Sciences is an application-oriented university that focuses on sustainable management, digitalization and entrepreneurial thinking and action. The New Work Institute at the Department of Business researches and teaches new forms of work and organization.  

About the 4 day week: The introduction of the 4-day week promises not only a better work-life balance for employees, but also potential benefits for companies, including increased productivity, improved employee retention and greater job satisfaction. 

For questions or interview requests, please contact:

Veit Hailperin  

Country Manager 4 Day Week Switzerland 

veit@hailperin.com 

Revolutionizing Work Culture Lands 4 Day Week Global a coveted spot on Fast Company’s 2024 Most Innovative Companies List

Joining the ranks of industry giants like Nvidia, YouTube, and Taco Bell, 4 Day Week Global’s pioneering advocacy for reduced working hours worldwide has captured the attention of global leaders and cultural influencers alike.

LONDON — Fast Company has honored 4 Day Week Global by including the Global Think Tank in its prestigious lineup of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024. This recognition celebrates businesses at the forefront of industry and cultural transformation through their groundbreaking innovations. These trailblazing organizations are setting new benchmarks and achieving remarkable milestones across various sectors of the global economy. Fast Company’s list, featuring the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, ranks 4 Day Week Global the 40th Most Innovative Company overall, and Number 1 in Workplace Innovation.

Dr. Dale Whelehan, CEO at 4 Day Week Global, expressed profound pride in the team's achievement, remarking, "Today marks a monumental milestone for our team. As a startup social enterprise with just twelve members spanning five continents, being acknowledged among esteemed innovators is an extraordinary honor. 4 Day Week Global's work exemplifies how innovation in work practices, through skillful reduction in working hours, can foster sustainable well-being for individuals and drive sustainable performance for organizations."

Over the past year, 4 Day Week Global has conducted extensive research, revealing the positive outcomes of companies participating in their 4-day week trial programs across multiple countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Additionally, ongoing trials in Brazil and Germany continue to yield impressive results, showcasing significant reductions in stress, burnout, and fatigue. Notably, participants also experience enhanced business performance, including increased retention rates and decreased absenteeism. The organization has recently launched its partnership network, with plans for pilots on all continents in 2024.

Reflecting on 4 Day Week Global’s jouney, co-founder, Charlotte Lockhart, stated: “When Andrew and I started this journey to reduce work time in our own business, we never imagined we would end up leading a global conversation at the heart of how we value work time. We are delighted to have Fast Company recognise the innovative approach 4 Day Week Global takes to changing the workplace for the better.” 

Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies franchise represents a pinnacle in editorial excellence and serves as a comprehensive guide to global innovation, spanning from nascent startups to established industry leaders. The editorial team, after evaluating thousands of submissions through a rigorous application process, identifies companies driving progress and innovation across the globe.

Editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan remarked, “Our list of the Most Innovative Companies not only reflects the innovation economy but also provides insight into the business trends shaping the year. Despite the challenges we face, the solutions celebrated in MIC inspire hope for the future."

ABOUT 4 DAY WEEK GLOBAL

4 Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by entrepreneurs and philanthropists Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart, following the groundbreaking success of their 4 Day Week trial at Perpetual Guardian. Since then, the organization has collaborated with thousands of companies worldwide, facilitating the transition to reduced-hour, output-focused work models. Guided by the 100-80-100™ model developed during the Perpetual Guardian trial, the organization aims to establish the 4 Day Week as the new standard, leading the global movement for shorter working hours.

ABOUT FAST COMPANY

Fast Company is the premier media brand dedicated to the intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company, along with its sister publication Inc., is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.

Africa’s first 4 day week trial a remarkable success

Reduced-hour work week deemed a “universally beneficial policy”

South Africa has marked a significant milestone in the realm of work-life balance with the successful completion of its first ever 4 day week pilot program. The six-month trial is the first of its kind on the African continent and was run by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with 4 Day Week South Africa NPC, with researchers in Boston College and Stellenbosch Business School.

The groundbreaking initiative, which commenced in March of this year, aimed to explore the benefits of reducing the traditional 40-hour work week and compare the outcomes to other countries’ experiences.

Key findings indicate a resounding success in terms of employer and employee satisfaction, workplace productivity and overall well-being, with 92% of participating companies planning to retain the new schedule.

Organizations rated the overall trial a 7.7/10, reporting great satisfaction with business productivity, performance, and ability to attract employees. They also observed an 11% average reduction in resignations and a 9% reduction in absenteeism over the course of the pilot, with revenue increasing by a weighted average of 10.5%.

Employee outcomes were similarly positive, with 90% wanting to continue their 4 day week post-trial. When asked how much additional pay they’d require in their next job to go back to five days, over half (51%) said between 21-50% more, with over one in ten (13%) stating no amount of money would induce them to go back.

Lead quantitative researcher, Professor Juliet Schor of Boston College said: “The results have been impressive. While hours didn't fall by the full eight per week, employees did see improvements in virtually all our measures of well-being, stress, burnout, fatigue, anxiety, mental health, work-family balance, sleep problems and exercise frequency. One of the strongest results is a large improvement in self-reported productivity, without much increase in work intensity.”

4 Day Week Global CEO, Dr Dale Whelehan said: “This research represents a pivotal moment not just for South Africa, but for the entire continent and global community. While there were some deviations from trends observed in other regions, the vast majority of findings were consistent with prior research, demonstrating this is a universally beneficial policy.”

Annerike Meiring, Human Resource Officer at participating IT company, Elnatan said: "Elnatan has overall achieved success with the 4 day week and will continue. Our employees are more rested, productivity has increased, and our customers have not experienced any difference in our quality of service. The pilot taught us how to be more agile and efficient, and we are using those learnings to rethink and optimise for the future."

ENDS

For more information contact us here.

Full report available for download here.

Find a list of participating companies here.

For more information on 4 Day Week Global’s pilot program, see here.

For more information on 4 Day Week South Africa NPC, see here.

28 companies (27 from South Africa and one from Botswana) signed up for the pilot. Findings are based on the 22 companies who returned all surveys.

470 employees participated in the trial, with 61% of those responding to both baseline and endpoint surveys.

The largest group of companies is from the professional services sector (11). The second largest subset is IT (5), with marketing (3) being the third largest group.

While the size distribution is wide, with one company employing 100+ people, 57% have ten or fewer employees.

No US or Canadian companies to return to five days, post 4 day week trial

Working hours continue to fall for companies a year on

New research from non-profit, 4 Day Week Global, has found that companies’ average working hours continued to fall beyond the conclusion of their six-month 4 day week pilot program. A year after launching their trials, employees’ average work week dropped from a baseline of 38 hours to 32.97, down almost a full hour from the six-month mark.

Workers’ experiences also remained highly positive, with an unchanged rating of 9/10 beyond the trial’s conclusion. Self-rated physical and mental health measures improved over 12 months, with employees also reporting increased work-life balance scores.

Lead researcher, Professor Juliet Schor of Boston College said: “It’s important to note this continued reduction in hours was not achieved via increased work intensity where people had to speed up and cram five days of tasks into four. Instead, they operated more efficiently and continued to improve these capabilities as the year progressed.”

Separately, results from a study of 41 US and Canadian companies who trialled a 4 day week for six months found that none were planning to return to five days. On a scale of 1-10, companies rated the overall trial an 8.7, reporting great satisfaction with business productivity, performance, and ability to attract employees. They also observed a 15% average increase in revenue over the course of the pilot program.

Employee outcomes were similarly positive, with 95% wanting to continue their 4 day week post-trial. Seven in ten (69%) reported reductions in burnout, while two in five felt less stressed. 42% of workers did more environmentally friendly activities during the trial, such as recycling, buying eco-friendly items and walking and cycling, rather than driving.

Jenise Uehara, CEO of Search Engine Journal, a US-based pilot company said: "Before our trial, dedicated employees were struggling with burnout. Turnover was increasing due to an intense workload, meeting overload, and inefficient procedures. The 4 day week motivated us to question our status quo and implement major productivity improvements. Today, we are reaping the benefits. Our turnover has dropped to record lows, productivity levels remained constant, and clients did not notice we had adopted a 4 day week. One employee told me that his kids now regard Fridays as ‘family day.’ I am thrilled we could prove a business case for supporting employees’ work-life balance.”

Tara Vanderloo, Chief Experience Officer at Sensei Labs, a Canadian-based pilot company said: “Sensei Labs’ culture is engineered around highly engaged, productive teams. The 4 day week seemed like a perfect fit for our teams, who were enthusiastic about the pilot program. The prep work pressurized all our teams and systems and helped identify opportunities to enhance productivity and find 20% efficiencies. The pilot was very successful for engagement, loyalty and retention, and attracting awesome new Senseis. We’re excited to keep the 4 day week in place beyond the pilot, and our teams remain deeply committed to the practice and preserving our productivity metrics. More than one of our team members has called this life-changing, which is the best feedback we could have.”

Dr Dale Whelehan, CEO of 4 Day Week Global said: “We’re delighted to see the positive experience North American participants had on our pilot program and encourage other businesses to follow these innovative leaders and sign up themselves. We’re equally thrilled with the new data showing people’s success with the 4 day week post-trial. A concern we frequently hear is the novelty will eventually wear off and performance will dwindle, but here we are a year later with benefits only continuing to grow. A promising result for the future of the movement.”

ENDS

Full report is available to download here: https://www.4dayweek.com/long-term-2023-pilot-results

List of North American pilot companies available here: https://www.4dayweek.com/us-canada-2023-participants

Working hours continue to fall for companies a year into their 4 day week

New research from non-profit, 4 Day Week Global, has found that companies’ average working hours continued to fall beyond the conclusion of their six-month 4 day week pilot program. A year after launching their trials, employees’ average work week dropped from a baseline of 38 hours to 32.97, down almost a full hour from the six-month mark.

Crucially, this reduction was not achieved via increased work intensity where people had to speed up and cram five days of tasks into four. Instead, they operated more efficiently and continued to improve these capabilities as the year progressed.

Workers’ experience with the 4 day week also remained highly positive, with an unchanged rating of 9/10 beyond the trial’s conclusion. Self-rated physical and mental health measures improved over 12 months, with employees also reporting increased work-life balance scores.

Lead researcher, Professor Juliet Schor of Boston College said: “Life satisfaction scores remained stable with no significant change from the trial’s endpoint to the 12-month mark. However, job satisfaction showed a slight regression after a year. This suggests the positive effects a 4 day week has on life satisfaction may be more deeply embedded in individuals' overall well-being than in job satisfaction alone. Nonetheless, job satisfaction scores remained higher than baseline.”

Jon Leland, Chief Strategy Officer at Kickstarter, a US-based non-profit who launched their 4 day week in 2021 said: “The most profound impact was on employee retention. We’ve seen very few people choose to depart the company since the implementation of our 4 day week. This has dramatically improved our ability to meet objectives and key results every quarter. While we were lucky to hit 70% prior to our pilot, we now hit more than 90%. It’s easy to think that a company might have to sacrifice some ambition to implement a 4 day week, but we have only increased the scale of our ambition since its adoption.”

Dr Dale Whelehan, CEO of 4 Day Week Global said: “We’re delighted to see the positive experience people continue to have with the 4 day week beyond the conclusion of our pilot program. A concern we frequently hear is there’s no way the results from our six-month trials can be maintained, as the novelty eventually must wear off, but here we are a year later with benefits only continuing to grow. This is very promising for the sustainability of this model, and we look forward to tracking companies’ experiences well into the future.”

For more information, contact Hazel Gavigan, 4 Day Week Global Director of Communications. Media@4dayweek.com / Hazel.Gavigan@4dayweek.com / +353872932418

Notes to the editor

Average weekly hours at the end of the six-month trial were 33.85.

Levels of burnout increased slightly in the six months after the trial concluded, but most of the original improvement was sustained.

The full report is available to download here

Click here to learn more about our pilot programs

Click here to register for a pilot program information session

4 Day Week Global named on TIME100 Most Influential Companies list

Fast-growing advocacy body 4 Day Week Global was today named as a TIME100 Most Influential Company. The organisation secured the coveted accolade by leading the global conversation about reduced work time, conducting research on the benefits, and facilitating thousands of companies from numerous sectors to make the permanent transition to reduced-hour, output-focused working with no loss of pay.

Appearing alongside titans such as Apple, Microsoft and Disney, 4 Day Week Global has undoubtably made an indelible impact on the world of work. Since its inception in 2019, the concept of a 4 day week has quickly evolved from a fanciful notion to a prosperous reality, with countless organisations and many governments now experimenting with their 100-80-100™ model.

Over the past year, the non-profit has published research detailing the experience of companies on their 4 day week pilot programs across the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Findings are unanimously positive, with significant reductions in levels of stress, burnout and fatigue. Participants also enjoy remarkable business outcomes, with increased levels of retention and drops in absenteeism observed.

Andrew Barnes, Entrepreneur and 4 Day Week Global co-founder said: “You don’t get many chances to change the world. What started as a small experiment at a single company in 2018 has swiftly become an unstoppable movement. At the rate it’s growing, I believe the reduced-hour approach to work will become mainstream policy within the next five years.”

Dr Dale Whelehan, CEO at 4 Day Week Global said: “This is an immensely proud day for us. We are a team of just ten people across five continents, so to be listed alongside such illustrious names is a huge honour. Today is not only a testament to the benefits of the 4 day week, but a celebration of the difference a small group of passionate, talented individuals can make through hard work and dedication.”

ENDS

Notes to the editor

To assemble this third-annual list which highlights companies making an extraordinary impact around the world, TIME solicited nominations from its global network of contributors and correspondents as well as from outside experts. Then TIME editors evaluated each on key factors, including impact, innovation, ambition, and success. The result is a diverse group of 100 businesses helping chart an essential path forward.

See the full TIME100 Companies list here: time.com/100companies

For more information on 4 Day Week Global’s research, see here: 4dayweek.com/research

To participate in a 4 Day Week Global pilot program, see here: 4dayweek.com/pilot-program

About 4 Day Week Global

4 Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by entrepreneurs and philanthropists Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart following the world-renowned success of their pioneering trial of the 4 Day Week in Perpetual Guardian.

Since then, 4 Day Week Global has engaged with thousands of companies from a variety of industries all over the world to make the permanent transition to reduced-hour, output-focused working. In 2022 4 Day Week Global guided approximately 200 organisations through pilot programs and is running further quarterly global pilots in 2023.

The approach is based on the 100-80-100™ model designed by Lockhart alongside the Perpetual Guardian trial in 2018. That’s 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.

In 2023 4 Day Week Global formed a partnership with Alex Soojung-Kim Pang to further develop the global consultancy and broaden the research.

4 Day Week Global’s ambition is to make a 4 Day Week the new default and reduced working time the new standard. Its intention is to lead and grow the global movement for a shorter working week to make it a reality all over the world.

Government-backed 4 day week trial commences in Portugal

The government-funded pilot of the 4-day work week starts this week in Portugal. It includes 39 private-sector organisations, 27 starting a 4 day week on the 5th June and 12 which have initiated it earlier. The aim of this project is to measure the impact of reduced work time on the physical and mental health of workers, as well as the economic and functional impact on organisations.

Participants have committed to reducing weekly hours while maintaining full pay. Companies volunteered for the program without financial compensation and can reverse the measure at any moment, should they choose. Recruitment was open to all private sector firms in Portugal and the government is providing technical services, in partnership with 4 Day Week Global, to support the transition.

The participating firms come from a wide range of sectors. While most companies are engaged in professional, scientific and technical activities, the trial will include a nursery, a care home, a stem cells bank, a research and development centre, and firms from manufacturing, retail, and not-for-profit sectors. Their main motivators for participating were to reduce levels of stress and burnout for workers, and improve staff retention.

The project is being coordinated by Dr. Pedro Gomes, Associate Professor in Economics at Birkbeck, University of London and author of the book Friday is the New Saturday, and Dr. Rita Fontinha, Associate Professor of Strategic Human Resources at Henley Business School and co-author of the Henley White Paper on the Four-Day Week. They will track the experience of companies during the trial to determine the economic, societal, and environmental implications of the 4-day week.

The coordinators of the project, Dr. Pedro Gomes and Dr. Rita Fontinha said: “In the last 30 years, so much in society has changed: the technology we use, the speed in which we communicate, the types of jobs that we do, the length of our lives, or the role of women in society. But we still organize work in the exact same way. We believe that the 4-day week is a more efficient and sustainable way of organising work in the 21st century, and one that brings mutual benefits for workers, businesses and the economy. This is the philosophy behind this project. With the support of 4 Day Week Global, we’ll work together with companies and their workers, to help them experiment the 4-day week, and evaluate its effects in the context of the Portuguese economy.

CEO of 4 Day Week Global, Dr Dale Whelehan said: “We are delighted to be working with the Portuguese government on this pilot, commend them for their leadership, and encourage other jurisdictions to act quick. Our research clearly demonstrates the 4 day week is better for business, workers and the environment, and we’re looking forward to this cohort experiencing the benefits of reduced work time first-hand.”

The Portuguese Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, said:  “Portugal is taking another step in the future of work. The 4 day workweek pilot-project assumes work life balance as critical to attract workers and to improve productivity and innovation. The best companies are the ones who guarantee that they are a space for talent and for fulfilment of workers. We are pleased with the positive response to this experiment, and it is certain that it will not result in a reduction in compensation. This project will be closely monitored and evaluated. This is just the beginning – a promising start – of one of the many changes we are implementing in the labour market of a country that is experiencing historically high levels of employment and is eager to attract and retain talent. The future belongs to those who can attract the best workers with strong skills and a higher level of happiness, in a globally competitive market where Talent and People are the best resources.”

For more information, contact:

4 Day Week Global (media@4dayweek.com)

Birkbeck, University of London, Ilayda Arden (i.arden@bbk.ac.uk )

Henley Business School PR team (les13m2@reading.ac.uk )

Portuguese Labour Ministry, Marisa Ferreira (marisa.ferreira@mtsss.gov.pt )

Notes to the editor

For more information about the development of this pilot program, download the Birkbeck and Henley Business School initial report here.

For a list of companies on this trial who’ve consented to being publicly named for international press, click here.

About 4 Day Week Global 

4 Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by entrepreneurs and philanthropists, Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart, following the world-renowned success of their pioneering trial of the 4 day week in Perpetual Guardian. 

Since then, 4 Day Week Global has supported over 1,000 companies from a variety of industries all over the world to make the permanent transition to reduced-hour, output-focused working. Last year alone, they guided approximately 200 organisations through their pilot programs and plan to run further quarterly global pilots in 2023. 

Their approach is based on the 100-80-100™ model designed by Lockhart alongside the Perpetual Guardian trial in 2018. That’s 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output. 

In 2023, they formed a partnership with Alex Soojung-Kim Pang to further develop their global consultancy and broaden their research. He just released his third book on the 4 day week, Work Less: Do More. 

4 Day Week Global’s ambition is to make a 4 day week the new default and reduced working time the new standard. Its intention is to lead and grow the global movement for a shorter working week to make it a reality all over the world.

About Birkbeck 

Founded in 1823, Birkbeck, University of London, is a world-class research and teaching institution, a vibrant centre of academic excellence and London's only specialist provider of evening higher education. Our evening teaching allows students to progress their life goals during the day, through work, volunteering or internships.    

www.bbk.ac.uk | @BirkbeckUoL | youtube.com/BirkbeckVideo      

About Henley Business School 

Henley Business School is triple-accredited and part of the University of Reading. With campuses, offices and partnerships around the world, over 7,000 students from more than 100 countries and over 87,000 alumni from 160 countries, it is a truly international institution. Courses are enriched by up-to-date knowledge, research and commercial experience, and aimed at students and professionals at every stage of their career – from undergraduate through to postgraduate, PhD, MBA, DBA and executive education. 

Huge success for Australasian 4 day week pilot, new research reveals

Results of an Australasian pilot programme, run by non-profit 4 Day Week Global, reveal the vast majority of companies prefer working a 4 day week where they get 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for 100% of the output. The six-month trial of a 4 day week, which 26 organisations embarked on last August, found that 95% of organisations favour the reduced schedule. 

On a scale of 1-10, companies rated the overall trial an 8.2, reporting great satisfaction with business productivity, performance, and ability to attract employees. They also observed a 44% average reduction in absenteeism and 9% reduction in resignations over the course of the pilot. 

Employee outcomes were similarly positive, with 96% wanting to continue their 4 day week post-trial. When asked much additional pay they’d require in their next job to go back to five days, over one in three said between 26-50% more, with over one in ten stating no amount of money would induce them to go back. 

Promising gender equality and environmental findings were also observed, with commuting time falling by 36 minutes per person per week, and men in heterosexual relationships increasing their share of housework and childcare. 

Lead researcher on the programme, Professor Juliet Schor of Boston College said: “The 4 day week has a remarkable capacity to improve employee well-being and social outcomes. Almost two thirds of employees experienced reductions in burnout, while 38% felt less stressed during the trial. People were exercising more, getting better sleep and generally more satisfied with their time.” 

General manager at Australian-based company, RentWest Solutions, Michelle Rigg said: “After previously trying to introduce the 4 day week ourselves and failing, we decided to sign up for 4 Day Week Global’s pilot programme. The learnings we received in preparation for the trial were integral to it being a success. 

“Our key indicator was our customer experience. Throughout the trial, we had several check points to assess this and although we tried, we found no change to the customer experience – in most cases it had improved. We also conducted several check-ins with the team and at the end of the trial, it was an overwhelming yes to continuing.” 

Founder of New Zealand-based company, Brevity Ltd, Matt Bishop said: “As an innovative firm that values productivity optimization and advanced technologies, Brevity Ltd recognises the importance of maximising efficiency. Motivated by the prospect of an additional day off each week, our team proactively prioritised tasks, enhanced processes, and managed their energy more effectively. This heightened focus resulted in increased productivity beyond what we achieve during a typical work week, surpassing client expectations. Moreover, the extra day off provided our team with renewed energy for the following week's productivity drive. 

“Brevity Ltd takes pride in being at the forefront of this progressive work model, serving as an industry example and reaffirming our commitment to the success and well-being of our team.” 

Entrepreneur and co-founder of 4 Day Week Global, Andrew Barnes said: “These results are a real full-circle moment, as 4 Day Week Global was founded after the success of a similar pilot in my company in New Zealand, Perpetual Guardian, in 2018. It brings me great joy that other businesses in Australasia have discovered the benefits of a 4 day week and I’m glad to announce recruitment for our new trial is now open.” 

4 Day Week Global is today launching recruitment for its second Australasian pilot programme. Participants are taught how to redesign their workdays, optimise efficiencies, and reform culture. They gain access to all necessary resources for a successful transition, while their experience is tracked by a team of world-class academics. The non-profit is hosting a series of free online information sessions about the pilot in the coming weeks.

For more information or to arrange interviews, contact media@4dayweek.com

Click here to download the 2023 Australasia pilot program report

The following companies took part and have agreed to be named publicly:

Australia

• ABA Advice

• Byrne Consultants

• Momentum Mental Health

• Rentwest Solutions

• The Walk

New Zealand

• Brevity Limited

• Cook Costello

• Frank Accounting

• Kowtow Clothing

Elsewhere

• Future Talent Learning (UK)

• OrangeYouGlad (US)

• Savings United (EU)

• Seably (EU)

Click here to learn more about our pilot programs

Click here to register for a pilot program information session

Congressman Takano Reintroduces 32 Hour Workweek Act

“Workers across the nation are collectively reimagining their relationship to labor – and our laws need to follow suit.”

— Rep. Mark Takano

By Charlotte Lockhart

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mark Takano (CA-39), a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, reintroduced the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act. This legislation would reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours by amending the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and lowering the maximum hours threshold for overtime compensation for non-exempt employees. Original cosponsors of the bill are Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). 

This bill has been endorsed by 4 Day Week Global, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the National Employment Law Project (NELP), and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC). 

“Workers across the nation are collectively reimagining their relationship to labor – and our laws need to follow suit,” said Rep. Mark Takano. “We have before us the opportunity to make common sense changes to work standards passed down from a different era. The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would improve the quality of life of workers, meeting the demand for a more truncated workweek that allows room to live, play, and enjoy life more fully outside of work.”  

“For too long, our country has prioritized corporate profits over working people and Americans have been forced to work longer hours, sacrificing time with loved ones.”

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07)

“For too long, our country has prioritized corporate profits over working people and Americans have been forced to work longer hours, sacrificing time with loved ones. While policies enacted by President Biden and Democrats have finally started to raise wages for workers across multiple industries, it’s vital that health, well-being, and basic human dignity are valued over employers’ bottom lines. Establishing a 32-hour work week would go a long way toward finally righting that balance,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “And as new data from a recent pilot program show, the 32-hour work week is not only good for workers—it’s good for companies too. I'm proud to join my Progressive Caucus colleagues in supporting Rep. Takano's bill and look forward to continuing the fight together to put power back into the hands of working people as we ensure every worker has good benefits, better conditions, and an equal voice on the job."

“This act reflects the growing movement towards reduced working hours. Emerging research is making the irrefutable case that a 4 day week results in positive benefits for organisations, people, and society,” said Dr. Dale Whelehan. “As CEO of 4 Day Week Global, I am delighted to formally endorse this act led by Rep Takano, to make another step forward towards a human-centered and evidence-based future of work.” 

“For far too long, working people have put in extraordinarily long hours on the job and sacrificed too much time with their families and loved ones. ”

— Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO

“For far too long, working people have put in extraordinarily long hours on the job and sacrificed too much time with their families and loved ones. This legislation is a step in the right direction to ensure working people get the dignity and job-life balance they deserve,” said Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO. “It's past time for corporations to adapt to the changing needs of America's workforce, including shorter work days and a four-day workweek.” 

“Many workers are struggling to balance working more hours to earn more income against having more time to focus on themselves, their families, and other pursuits. However, while studies have shown that long working hours hurt health and productivity, taking control of work-life balance is often a privilege only afforded to higher-earning workers,” said Heidi Shierholz, President of the Economic Policy Institute. “This bill would help protect workers against the harmful effects of overwork by recognizing the need to redefine standards around the work week. Reducing Americans’ standard work week is key to achieving a healthier and fairer society.” 

The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act does not make any changes or limit the number of hours that an employee may work in a standard workweek but amends the definition of the workweek in federal law. The majority of workers impacted would be non-exempt, hourly workers, but some salaried workers fall under the scope of the bill’s provisions. This legislation has the potential to increase wage-earning opportunities for a larger number of workers by limiting the number of hours required to reach the full-time threshold, as well as allow for better work-life balance and overall health outcomes.  

Full text of the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act is available here. A one pager can be found here. 

Results from world’s largest 4 day week trial bring good news for the future of work

New research revealed today shows that results from the world’s largest trial of a 4 day week are largely consistent with existing global evidence, further demonstrating the benefits of reduced-hour, output-focused working.

The pilot program – conducted in the UK by non-profit 4 Day Week Global, the UK’s 4 Day Week Campaign and think-tank Autonomy – guided over 60 companies and almost 3,000 workers through a six-month trial of a 4 day week, with no loss of pay for workers. This brings the global campaign’s total number of completed pilot participants to 91 companies and approximately 3,500 employees.

Overall results show that almost every organisation will stick to a 4 day week post-trial, with 91% definitely continuing or planning to continue, and a further 4% leaning towards continuing. Only 4% of participants are definitely not continuing.

Companies rated their overall experience of the trials an average of 8.5/10, with business productivity and business performance each scoring 7.5/10. Revenue rose by 35% over the trial periods when compared to similar periods from the previous year, and hiring increased while absenteeism decreased.

The health and well-being of employees also improved, with significant increases observed in physical and mental health, time spent exercising, and overall life and job satisfaction. Rates of stress, burnout and fatigue all fell, while problems with sleep declined.

Environmental outcomes were also encouraging, with commuting time falling across the full sample by a half hour per week.

Lead researcher, Professor Juliet Schor of Boston College observed an encouraging consistency in the data: “Results are largely steady across workplaces of varying sizes, demonstrating this is an innovation which works for many types of organisations.

“There are also some interesting differences. We found that employees in non-profits and professional services had a larger average increase in time spent exercising, while those in construction/manufacturing enjoyed the largest reductions in burnout and sleep problems,” she said.

Behavioural scientist and new CEO of 4 Day Week Global, Dr Dale Whelehan explained the sample produced interesting differences in gender outcomes: “While both men and women benefit from a 4 day week, women’s experience is generally better. This is the case for burnout, life and job satisfaction, mental health and reduced commuting time. Encouragingly, the burden of non-work duties appears to be balancing out, with more men taking on a greater share of housework and childcare,” he said.

Co-founder and Managing Director of 4 Day Week Global, Charlotte Lockhart looked to what’s ahead: “Our team is delighted to be expanding the arguments in favour of a 4 day week today with this new world-class academic research, and we look forward to adding our Australasian pilot results to this data set in the coming weeks and our European, South African, Brazilian and North American results in the coming months,” she said.

ENDS

For more information and to arrange interviews with those quoted, contact Hazel Gavigan: hazel.gavigan@4dayweek.com / media@4dayweek.com +353872932418

Notes to the editor:

Case studies and pilot participants available for interview on request. Of the 91 companies and ~3,500 employees who took part in the pilot programs, 75 companies and 1,751 employees completed the surveys. The above findings are based on that sample.

Download the global overview and UK results summary here.

Download previous findings from the US and Ireland here.

About 4 Day Week Global

4 Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by entrepreneurs and philanthropists, Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart, following the world-renowned success of their pioneering trial of the 4 day week in Perpetual Guardian.

Since then, 4 Day Week Global has supported over 1,000 companies from a variety of industries all over the world to make the permanent transition to reduced-hour, output-focused working. Last year alone, they guided approximately 200 organisations through their pilot programs and plan to run further quarterly global pilots in 2023.

Their approach is based on the 100-80-100™ model designed by Lockhart alongside the Perpetual Guardian trial in 2018. That’s 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.

In 2023 they formed a partnership with Alex Soojung-Kim Pang to further develop their global consultancy and broaden their research.

4 Day Week Global’s ambition is to make a 4 day week the new default and reduced working time the new standard. Its intention is to lead and grow the global movement for a shorter working week to make it a reality all over the world.

Behaviour scientist announced as new leader of global campaign for a 4 Day Week

As momentum for reduced work-time continues to grow, the international non-profit 4 Day Week Global is delighted to welcome behaviour scientist, Dr. Dale Whelehan on board as its new Chief Executive Officer. 

Considered an expert in the field of wellbeing, Dale is passionate about the intrinsic role work plays in fatigue and performance. He believes shorter working hours can bring about radical transformation for people's health, happiness and society as a whole.

Offering a diverse range of experience in human capital, workplace culture and change management, Dale originally trained as a physiotherapist. He later completed a PhD exploring the impact of fatigue and sleep deprivation in healthcare workers, particularly surgeons, and has published extensively in this field. More recently, he worked as a senior human capital consultant for Deloitte Ireland where he specialised in behavioural science implementation to enable large scale organisational change.

Commenting on 4 Day Week Global’s research-led approach, Dale is confident in its capacity to effect radical change: “By providing staff with sufficient time to rest and recover from the daily load of their work, we are likely to observe innovation within industries that would simply not be possible with a burned out workforce. 

“Not only does 4 Day Week Global offer expert advice and guidance to companies making the switch to reduced work-time, but the evidence base they are building with the results of their international trials produces endless opportunities for the future of work. We have a unique chance to make a positive impact on society as a whole and I look forward to being part of this important change,” he said.

Feeling optimistic about the organisation’s future, 4 Day Week Global co-founder, Charlotte Lockhart said: “Having witnessed the benefits of a 4 day week first-hand, my co-founder Andrew Barnes and I are extremely passionate about reduced work-time and are delighted to be bringing someone of Dale’s calibre on board at the helm.

“It is clear from his diverse breadth of experience and passion for influencing positive change that he has the skills and leadership necessary to drive this movement forward. There is no doubt that this new chapter for our organisation will be its best yet and we look forward to celebrating everything Dale achieves together with his world-class team.”

4-day week experiment set to go in South Africa with 29 companies signed up for March pilot kick off

Twenty-eight South African businesses and one Botswanan business – the first participant from elsewhere on the continent – have signed up for the 4 Day Week SA Pioneer Pilot.  It’s the country’s first ever trial of the four-day week - due to start on 1 March 2023. This means 500 business owners and employees will test out a reduced hour working week, in a bid to improve workplace productivity, wellbeing and talent attraction and retention. They will follow the 100-80-100™ model which prescribes 100% of the pay, 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.

Some of the latest companies to sign up are: Precision Vehicle and Asset Tracking  - an ICT security company from Botswana; jt&a – QCTO Accreditation Advisory Services; Dream Team Catalyst – an events and consulting company; Tax Maverick and The Tax Ladies - providing tax and finance services; Communicare – specialists in social housing and property development; Elnatan IT Solutions – an IT sales and support company; Marais Software Solutions – an IT software development company; marketing agency -2Stories;  employment services company - APSO; and Stellenbosch University’s fitness gymnasium - Maties Gymnasium.

With registrations for the Pioneer Pilot now closed, Karen Lowe, Director of 4 Day Week SA, says there will be a four-week intensive onboarding to get participants ready for the start on 1 March.  The trial will run for six months, guided by experts at 4 Day Week Global, the entity conducting trials around the world.  It will be underpinned by research before, mid-way and at the endpoint of the trial – conducted by Boston College and Stellenbosch Business School.

“To have 29 companies joining South Africa’s first ever pilot of the four-day week is testament to the forward thinking of business in this country. Pilot participants are embracing the idea that it’s time to change the nearly 100-year-old convention of a 5-day week. Reduced work hours are a central tenet to the future of work, and they are willing to give it a try. There is potentially so much to be gained, and nothing to lose from the experiment, “says Lowe.

Research findings from trials across the globe continue to make a clear case for the four-day week. Results from trials run in Ireland, the United States (US) and Australia, released in November 2022, showed company performance, productivity, and revenue improvements. Importantly, employees placed a high value on the four-day week. Seventy percent of participants said they would require between 10 to 50% more pay to go back to a five-day schedule. Thirteen percent said they’d require more than 50%. And 13% said that no amount of money could convince them to give up the four-day week.

Findings from the United Kingdom (UK) trial, the world’s largest to date, will be released towards the end of February 2023.  

Recruitment is already underway for South Africa’s second four-day week pilot, due to kick off in May 2023.  Organisations wanting to be part of the next trial can sign up by logging on to www.4dayweek.co.za

The latest companies to sign up for the 4 Day Week SA Pioneer Pilot have the following to say:

Precision Vehicle and Asset Tracking

"We joined the pilot because we believe very much in giving our employees opportunities to be more productive as well as taking care of their mental health. From the research that we did it's clear that there are productivity and well-being benefits that come up with having a  4 day work week." Kealeboga Kaelo, CEO.

Jt&a

“As a team we decided to embark on rolling out our Freedom Fridays aka Fridays off to spend more time with our families and work on our mental and emotional well-being, after all we only get one life.  As we prepare for our 1st March 2023 4 Day Work Week roll out we are eagerly engaging with all the resources this pilot programme has to offer to assist us with achieving our company objectives in a more automated stream lined manner.” Jeanine Topping, Director.

Dream Team Catalyst

 “At Dream Team we have always been interested in productivity and efficiency. We have become masters at doing more with less at a constantly increasing space. We realised though that we were burning the candle at both ends and that we needed to focus more on wellness and bring balance back to the lives of our most valuable asset – our people. Reducing our work hours seemed a pipedream until we discovered 4 day week SA. We love the fact that we are embarking on a process that could be a game changer for our company and that we will be supported with a proven process, a supportive community and exceptional expertise and resources every step of the way.”  Gerry Skerritt, Marketing Director.

Tax Ladies

“We, at The Tax Ladies, are mothers who work from home.  We run our families while earning a living.  We have chosen to put family first, and have adapted our working hours accordingly.  A 4-Day Week approach allows us to have mornings and afternoons for family, and fits our work-day right in with the school day.  We do not live to work full days;  we work to live full lives.” Jennifer Lopes, Master Tax Practitioner.

Tax Maverick

"You don't build a great company by accident. Having a 4 Day Week at Tax Maverick is an innovative step towards building and maintaining a great work culture." André Bothma, Founder & CEO.

Communicare

“At Communicare we strive to give our staff the tools and time they need to focus on their emotional and physical wellness at work and at home, to ensure work life balance and operational productivity.  To enhance our employee value proposition, we believe that implementing the 4-day work week could have a further positive impact on mental wellness as it will provide our people with some valuable extra time to spend with their loved ones, and ultimately contribute to a more positive experience for our customer.”  Makhosi Kubheka, COO.

Elnatan

“Elnatan is very excited to be part of a new way of thinking regarding a better work/life balance for our employees and at the same time improved productivity in the workplace.” Annerike Meiring, Human Resource Officer.

Marais Software Solutions

“Programming firms have a great tendency to be very hourly driven and have extreme hours for staff. Designer Solutions has pledged not only to ensure great turnaround times for our clients, but to ensure that our staff are healthy and enjoy a solid work/home balance. We have thus joined the 4-Day Week Programme, to ensure that we stick by this pledge, and create wellness for our team. We believe that rested employees can be more productive.”  Llewellyn Marais, Managing Director.

2Stories

“2023 is the year of people for 2Stories. We are putting the wellbeing of our team at the centre of everything we do – and the best way to do that is by giving them some precious time. Best of all, everyone will win: a happy team creates great work, and great work leads to happy clients.” Anelde Greeff, Chief Content Officer.

“The 4-day work week pilot is not just about achieving a better work-life balance for our employees, it’s about fostering a culture of innovation and productivity. By giving our team the opportunity to have more time for themselves, their families, and their hobbies, we’re investing in their overall well-being and creativity. We anticipate that this will, in turn, lead to new ideas, fresh perspectives and ultimately, greater success for our clients and our agency.” Joanne Hope,  Chief Operating Officer.

“Embarking on this trial has already sparked game-changing conversations that we might not have had otherwise – and it hasn’t even started yet! I’m so excited to find ways to bring the best out of everyone on our team through honesty, creativity, flexibility and collaboration, without sacrificing anything that makes our agency so successful.” Linda Scarborough, Editor.

APS0

“As a Professional Body operating in the employment services industry, we are at the forefront of the Future of Work in which digitalization and 4IR are everyday realities.

As such, we are well positioned to look at innovation, process improvement and the well-being of our team so that we can increase productivity and lead and deliver value to our membership base. We are excited to embark on the pilot of the 4 Day Week and look forward to this journey!” Jacqui Ford, CEO.

Maties Gymnasium

“The business operates in the fitness/ leisure industry, where long hours and 7-day work- weeks are the norm. Employees really struggle to find and achieve a sustainable work-life balance in this industry.

During the Covid pandemic, we have seen that when staff are rotated (according to the various levels of Government Restrictions), we can work smarter with our staff rosters. Furthermore, the industry is very Key Performance Indicator (KPI)- driven, and we feel that we should focus more on deliverables, rather than the number of hours worked. For us to achieve the University’s vision of being an employer of choice, we need to take care of the mental wellness of our employees in an industry that mostly centres around physical wellness.

We hope that the gym’s contribution can show that businesses in the fitness industry (specifically) can work smarter and still achieve the desired set of deliverables”. Dr Francois Kotze, General Manager.

About 4 Day Week Global:

4 Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by 4 Day Week architect Andrew Barnes alongside entrepreneur and philanthropist Charlotte Lockhart in 2019, following the world-renowned success of their pioneering trial of the four-day working week in Perpetual Guardian in 2018. 

Since then, 4 Day Week Global has supported hundreds of companies from a variety of industries all over the world to run four-day week trials, or make the permanent transition to reduced-hour, productivity -focused working. 

Their approach is based on the 100-80-100™ principle designed by Lockhart alongside the Perpetual Guardian trial in 2018 - 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output. 

This model is proven to deliver both improved company productivity, efficiency and performance, alongside greater employee wellbeing, engagement, and work-life balance. Research from leading international academics suggest the four-day working week can be a truly triple-dividend policy: better for the economy, better for society, and better for the environment. 

Initially established as a networking community for like-minded people and organisations interested in exploring the shorter working week and as a vehicle for global advocacy, 4 Day Week Global has grown to become the global market leader in supporting businesses and governments who wish to experiment with or implement work-time reduction. 

The development of 4 Day Week Global's pilot programme in 2021 enabled the organisation to respond to the exponential growth in demand for and interest in the four-day working week, and to shift to a model which can uniquely support employers and employees to run trials at scale. 

The organisation has now joined forces with some of the world's most prominent and preeminent experts in this field, including speaker and consultant Alex Soojung-Kim Pang as global programs and development manager.

Its ambition is to make a four-day working week the new default and reduced working time the new standard. Its intention is to lead and grow the global movement for a shorter working week to make this a reality all over the world.

4 Day Week Global welcomes call for Welsh public sector 4 day week trial

In a report published today, the Welsh Petitions Committee recommended that the Welsh Government should liaise with organisations experienced in the area of work time reduction to develop a 4 day week pilot in the public service, with no loss of pay for employees. 

Responding to the publication, 4 Day Week Global co-founder and acting CEO, Charlotte Lockhart welcomed its recommendations: “Our philosophy is all about collective partnership and that’s exactly what’s been set out in this report. In order for the 4 day week to work there needs to be close collaboration with all major stakeholders, so it’s very encouraging to see this approach advised.

“Similarly, it’s important to measure the outcomes of any trial in order to inform next steps and serve as learnings for other jurisdictions. Therefore, the recommendation for a robust and impartial assessment of any pilot is a necessary and forward-thinking inclusion by the Committee.

“At 4 Day Week Global, we guide organisations through the transition to reduced-hour, output-focused working in a flexible and sustainable way. Our pilot programmes are not only a vehicle for change for participating companies, but the associated research adds to the growing bank of evidence in favour of a 4 day week, helping others to make the shift.

“The Welsh Government now has the opportunity to be a global leader on this front, acting as a real driver of change. We encourage this administration to seriously heed the recommendations set out in this report and look forward to offering any support that may be required.”

After considerable consultation and information collection, the Welsh Petitions Committee concluded that a 4 day week could have significant economic, social and environmental benefits. 4 Day Week Global was glad to contribute to these evidence sessions. 

About 4 Day Week Global 

4 Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by 4 Day Week architect Andrew Barnes alongside entrepreneur and philanthropist Charlotte Lockhart in 2019, following the world-renowned success of their pioneering trial of the 4 day week in Perpetual Guardian in 2018.

Since then, 4 Day Week Global has supported over 1,000 companies from a variety of industries all over the world to make the permanent transition to reduced-hour, output-focused working.

Last November, they published the results of their first completed pilot programme. Next month, they are set to publish the results of the world’s largest 4 day week trial where over 70 UK companies and 3,000 workers took part.

Their approach is based on the 100-80-100™ principle designed by Lockhart alongside the Perpetual Guardian trial in 2018. That’s 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.

Its ambition is to make a 4 day week the new default and reduced working time the new standard. Its intention is to lead and grow the global movement for a shorter working week to make this a reality all over the world.

4 day week pioneering pilot program a huge success, new research reveals

Companies rated their experience a 9.0 out of 10, with none returning to a five-day week post-trial

Revenue rose an average of 38% when compared with same period in previous year

Extra day off so valuable to workers, 70% say they’d need a 10-50% pay increase to return to 40 hours. 

New research published today (Wednesday, 30th November) reveals that companies who gave their staff an extra day off per week, with no reduction in pay, experienced increased revenue alongside reduced absenteeism and resignations. Workers felt less stressed and burnt out, and reported higher rates of life satisfaction. Findings also show significant declines in the duration and frequency of commuting, plus other positive environmental outcomes. None of the participating organizations are returning to a five-day week.

This comes after more than 30 companies and almost 1,000 employees in countries including the US, Ireland and Australia recently concluded a six-month 4 day week pilot program, coordinated by non-profit 4 Day Week Global.

Companies rated the trial a 9.0 out of 10, expressing extreme satisfaction with their overall productivity and performance. Revenue increased by more than a percentage point each month, with a total rise of 8% during the trial. When compared to the same six months in 2021, it rose by 38%.

Employees also rated the pilot highly, with 97% saying they want to continue on a 4 day week. When asked about the monetary value of their extra day off, 70% said their next job would need to offer between 10 to 50% more pay for them to go back to a five-day schedule, with over one in ten saying no amount of money could make them go back. 

The health and well-being of participants also improved, as Associate Professor Wen Fan of Boston College explains. “A wide range of well-being metrics showed significant improvement, including stress levels, burnout, fatigue and work-family conflict. Physical and mental health also improved, alongside satisfaction across multiple domains of life which may be linked to people getting better sleep and more exercise,” she said.

Lead researcher, Professor Juliet Schor of Boston College, noted an important outcome. “We were encouraged that participants did not experience an increase in the intensity of work. This suggests that the work re-organization strategy succeeded and performance was not achieved via speedup, which is neither sustainable nor desirable,” she said.

Speaking about their experience on the trial, pilot participant Jon Leland, Chief Strategy Officer at crowd-funding platform Kickstarter said, “The 4 day week has been transformative for our business and our people. Staff are more focused, more engaged and more dedicated, helping us hit our goals better than before. Greater employee retention and faster hiring has been surprisingly powerful in driving improved business outcomes too. We're achieving more as an organization, while giving people time to start new creative projects, rest, and be with their families. It's a true win-win.”

Rod Lacey, Chief People Officer at software company simPRO added, “After transitioning to this new way of working, we found that by truly taking care of our employees, listening to them and showing them that their input and work is valued, it comes back to simPRO everyday by way of dedicated commitment, retention and exceptional customer service and support.”

Reflecting on the journey so far, 4 Day Week Global co-founder, Charlotte Lockhart believes this is only the beginning. “When our co-founder Andrew Barnes and I first witnessed the benefits of the 4 day week in 2018, we knew we had to share our learnings. The results laid out in this report further prove what we already know and we look forward to expanding this research over the coming months, as other organizations from a range of industries and economies make the switch to reduced-hour, output-focused working. Change is imminent and I commend all involved in this trial for making history happen,” she said.

Click here to see the full report.

Some companies who participated in this research include: Custom RV manufacturers, Advanced RV (US); Engineering firm, Allied Consultant Engineering (IRE); Not-for-profit, Codema (IRE); Management consultancy, Cultique (Remote US); Performance management company, Frankli (IRE); Behavioural science firm, Fresh Squeezed Ideas (Remote CAN/UK); Web design company, GLIDE Design (Remote US); Education and business consultancy, Haemata (NZ); Construction company, Integrity Pro Roofing (US); Crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter (Remote US); Hospitality chain, M’Tucci’s restaurants (US); Business services company, Optimum (IRE); IT firm, OwnTrail (Remote US); Not-for-profit, Public Policy Lab (US); Recruitment company, Rent a Recruiter (IRE); Not-for-profit, Run For Something (Remote US); Saas/Software firm, simPRO (AU); Manufacturing company, Soothing Solutions (IRE); Business consultancy, Stillwater (Remote IRE); IT service providers, Typetec (IRE).

Progress towards a four-day week in North America, as over 60 companies make the shift

4 Day Week Global press release

Monday 3rd October, 2022

Progress towards a four-day week in North America, as over 60 companies make the shift

Today marks the latest step towards a four-day week for North America, as over 60 companies across the continent are now getting an extra day off per week, with no loss of pay. A group of almost 30 pioneering organisations will today follow others who started their journey earlier this year, by embarking on the latest phase of a six-month pilot program, coordinated by non-profit organisation, 4 Day Week Global.

These companies, who cumulatively employ over 4,000 people, join hundreds of other pilot participants around the world in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and most notably, the UK, where mid-point results of the largest trial of its kind recently revealed very positive outcomes.

Speaking ahead of today’s launch, 4 Day Week Global CEO, Joe O’Connor expressed excitement over the enthusiasm shown by companies thus far.

“We’re delighted to have such an assortment of innovative and bold business leaders on board this round of our pilot. Early evidence has already proven the four-day week’s potential for greatness, from improved business productivity to greater worker wellbeing, so we look forward to these organisations experiencing those benefits first-hand. 

“As more and more companies join four-day week trials, our capacity to gather and analyse data grows. This will ultimately lead us to a point where we can irrefutably demonstrate how the four-day week can be successfully implemented across every sector of the economy. So, not only are these participants building a better future for themselves, but they are paving the way towards a widespread application of reduced-hour, output-focused working and for that, should be celebrated,” he said.

Some organisations taking part in this phase of the pilot include: 

US

Search Engine Journal (Media & Publishing)

Peck Peck + Associates (Architecture & Interior Design)

Aeolidia (Graphic & Web Design

 Immersed Games (Educational Technology)

SIY Global (Corporate Training)
Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (Non-profit)
Friendly Design Co (Graphic Design)

Canada

Pb+j (Design & Marketing)

Sensei Labs Inc. (Technology/Enterprise SaaS)

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (Non-profit)

Atelier L'Abri (Architecture)

Produce8 (Technology/SaaS)

PRAXIS (Creative Services)

Jenise Uehara is CEO at Search Engine Journal, a media and publishing company participating in the trial. She said, “Search Engine Journal’s transition to a four-day week represents the best of our company’s shared belief system. We believe leadership has both a commercial imperative to mind the bottom line, and a moral imperative to support work-life balance for all. 

“We also believe in the studies that show empowered workers are more productive. While preparing for a four-day week, our staff-led committee has already discovered productivity opportunities. We know we will find more. We would not have been motivated to find and fix these inefficiencies had we not embraced a four-day week program with goals of 100% productivity, 100% of the pay, in 80% of the time. 

“Sometimes the best agent of change is disruption. Search Engine Journal will now have a precious gift we can give back to staff and their families: more time.”

Jon Leland is Chief Strategy Officer at Kickstarter, a public benefit corporation who recently completed their six-month four-day week trial. He said, “We decided to pilot the four-day week after looking at the mounting evidence that it could provide substantial benefits to our business, employees, and the community. After six months, we've found the research to be true. 

“Our productivity has been up, with employees more engaged, more focused and more committed to remaining at Kickstarter. They're also getting time back to rest, spend time with their families, pursue creative projects and volunteer. We hope other employers look at our experience and decide to adopt a four-day week for the benefit of their mission, their employees, and the public.”

Juliet Schor is Professor of Sociology at Boston College, and lead researcher on the pilot. She said, “We're very pleased  to be starting a new pilot with a great group of US and Canadian companies.

“The pilots we've run so far have had outstanding results. Companies are reporting that the four-day week has been a great success and that they'll be continuing. Employees are benefitting too - experiencing significantly less burnout, better work-family balance and mental health. And they're suffering from much less sleep deprivation. Companies and their employees are benefitting from reducing the work week.”

ENDS

For more information, contact:
media@4dayweek.com

About 4 Day Week Global:

4 Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by 4 Day Week architect Andrew Barnes alongside entrepreneur and philanthropist Charlotte Lockhart in 2019, following the world-renowned success of their pioneering trial of the four-day working week in Perpetual Guardian in 2018.

Since then, 4 Day Week Global has supported hundreds of companies from a variety of industries all over the world to run four-day week trials, or make the permanent transition to reduced hour, productivity focused working.

Their approach is based on the 100-80-100™ principle designed by Lockhart alongside the Perpetual Guardian trial in 2018 - 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.

This model is proven to deliver both improved company productivity, efficiency and performance, alongside greater employee wellbeing, engagement, and work-life balance. Research from leading international academics suggest the four-day working week can be a truly triple-dividend policy: better for the economy, better for society, and better for the environment.

Initially established as a networking community for like-minded people and organizations interested in exploring the shorter working week and as a vehicle for global advocacy, 4 Day Week Global has grown to become the global market leader in supporting businesses and governments who wish to experiment with or implement work time reduction.

The development of 4 Day Week Global's pilot programme in 2021 has enabled the organization to respond to the exponential growth in demand for and interest in the four-day working week, and to shift to a model which can uniquely support employers and employees to run trials at scale.

The organization has now joined forces with some of the world's most prominent and preeminent experts in this field, including bringing on board dynamic leader and campaigner Joe O'Connor as chief executive officer, and author, speaker and consultant Alex Soojung-Kim Pang as global programs and development manager.

Its ambition is to make a four-day working week the new default and reduced working time the new standard. Its intention is to lead and grow the global movement for a shorter working week to make this a reality all over the world.

Buy Andrew Barnes’ book, ‘The 4 Day Week; How the flexible work revolution can increase productivity, profitability and well-being, and create a sustainable future’, here.

Over 30 companies move to a four-day week across Australia and New Zealand

Press release

Monday, 1st August 2022

A new four-day week pilot is underway, as over 30 companies and almost 1000 workers across Australia and New Zealand get an extra day per week back with no loss of pay. The six-month coordinated trial, run by non-profit 4 Day Week Global, operates off the 100-80-100™ model where workers get 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintaining at least 100% of the output.

Participating companies operate across a diverse range of industries, offering services in the manufacturing, fashion, healthcare, real estate, finance, technology, education and PR sectors, to name but a few. They include:

Australia

●      ABA Advice Beyond Accounting

●      Ink+Iris

●      Itch Group of Companies

●      Momentum Mental Health

●      More Than Mortgages

●      Our Community

●      Rentwest Solutions

●      The Walk Agency

●      Your Creative

New Zealand

●      Cook Costello Limited

●      Haemata Limited

●      Kowtow Clothing

●      BVT Engineering Professional Services

The trial will be followed by a team of researchers at Boston College, the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney, who work with each company to define and establish their research baseline and relevant productivity metrics for the trial. The economic, social and ecological impact of the four-day week is also monitored throughout, assessing productivity, employee wellbeing, and gender and environmental impacts.

This pilot is part of a series of international programs, with others already underway in the UK, US, Canada and Ireland, with many more planned in the coming months.

Suzanne Brown, Director at Perth-based real estate company, Rentwest said: “My two passions in running a business are the employee experience and the client experience. I’ve learnt that if you get the employee experience right, then the customer will ultimately benefit also.

“By giving our team one more day off per week, we believe they will turn up on the four workdays more engaged, more energised and more productive. We have already seen team engagement enhance significantly, simply due to the excitement of planning this trial.

“Right now, Rentwest happens to be an all-female office. 60% of the team are working mums – we’re raising 34 children and many fur babies between us. Other team members are juggling caring responsibilities for aging parents and trying to fit in other volunteering commitments.

“I’d like to see this trial be a success and adopted permanently, as it will allow us all to take the time to care for our loved ones while also giving a little extra time for ourselves in the working week.”

Maygan Holland, Director at New Zealand-based consultant engineering firm, Cook Costello Limited said: “At Cook Costello we are re-engineering our work week. We believe collaboration of teams and creating time efficiencies using all available resources are crucial components in ensuring a sustainable working environment.

“The four-day week has the potential to be an important tool for Cook Costello in supporting our people to have time for what is important in their lives. We are excited to be part of this trial and to see what difference it makes to the way we work.

“Unfortunately, the pre-Covid challenges remain, where the global shortage of suitable people-resources puts teams and projects under pressure. However, the lockdowns did compel us to focus on just what was productive work and what were our team’s priorities.

“At Cook Costello, we have been bringing innovation to the technical elements of consultant engineering for more than 45 years. Now we’re experimenting with operational innovation as well.”

 Andrew Barnes, Entrepreneur and 4 Day Week Global Founder said: “When I had the idea to trial a four-day week at my company in New Zealand, Perpetual Guardian, I never could have imagined what was going to come of it. Now, four years later, after helping hundreds of companies and thousands of workers make the transition, all while hitting countless global headlines, we’re finally launching a pilot program back where it all began.

“We’ve already proven that success is possible and I’m very much looking forward to strengthening the evidence in favour of a four-day week with the positive outcomes this pilot is sure to produce.”

Charlotte Lockhart, 4 Day Week Global Founder and Managing Director said: “From business productivity gains to strengthened recruitment and retention; From reduced stress levels to improved work/life balance; From environmental sustainability to gender equality; The benefits of a four-day week are innumerous.

“We’re certain that this new way of working will soon become the new normal and once that happens, these pioneering companies participating in our pilot will be remembered and thanked for paving the way towards a better life.”

Professor John Quiggin, School of Economics, University of Queensland said: “Although there have already been preliminary trials with promising results, we don’t have enough evidence to say what works, what doesn’t and how workers and businesses will deal with a four-day week. This pilot is part of a series of experiments in different countries assessed on a consistent basis by leading academic researchers.

“In analysing the results, I will be particularly interested in two questions. First, how do responses differ in relation to gender and family responsibilities? And second, will the working arrangements gravitate towards a 4/3 structure, with one day (Monday or Friday) off, a core 3-day Tuesday-Thursday week, with reduced staffing on Mondays and Fridays, or remain similar to the current 5/2 structure, with flexible days off spread across the week?”

UK MP tables 32 hour week bill

Press release

Tuesday, 27th September 2022

4 Day Week Global responds to Labour bill which calls for a 32-hour work week

 While the introduction of a 32-hour work week is a worthy aspiration, it is critical to address this in parallel with an equal conversation about maintaining, if not improving, British productivity. 

 This is according to 4 Day Week Global, who has responded to a bill tabled in the UK parliament by Labour MP Peter Dowd, which calls for the introduction of a 32-hour work week across the UK economy, bringing workers in line with other parts of Europe.

 Andrew Barnes, co-founder of 4 Day Week Global, says, “Our philosophy and pilot programmes focus on how businesses can work in partnership with their workforce to ensure the balance between reducing work time and maintaining productivity.

 “To reduce work time sustainably, we believe in a collective partnership approach between workers, business leaders and key stakeholders. This is of paramount importance in order to ensure it is sustainable for businesses and works for the British economy in the long term.

 “We are working with several regional and national Governments in Europe and globally to introduce pilot programmes and research projects which assess the economic, social and environmental impacts of reducing work time, and the feasibility of introducing shorter hours across different sectors and industries. We encourage lawmakers around the globe to commit to supporting trials in both the public and private sector, which will help to inform sustainable future of work initiatives and the shape of legislation.” 

 Charlotte Lockhart, managing director of 4 Day Week Global added, “For us, this is about the desire to maintain pay at the same levels alongside moving to a shorter working week, without compromising on business performance or organisational priorities. Our 100-80-100™ principle was developed to reflect 100% pay for 80% time, while maintaining 100% of the output.”

 4 Day Week Global believes it is not simply the case that reducing work hours automatically leads to productivity increases. Businesses, along with their employees, should take ownership of their productivity, especially in the current challenging economic climate.

The recent release of mid-point results for their United Kingdom pilot programme, where over 70 companies are currently trialling a four-day week or equivalent shorter work week, shows an encouraging trend for business productivity being maintained and worker wellbeing improving. 

ends

 For more information:

4 Day Week Global

Global campaigns and activation officer

media@4dayweek.com 

About 4 Day Week Global:

4 Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by 4 Day Week architect Andrew Barnes alongside entrepreneur and philanthropist Charlotte Lockhart in 2019, following the world-renowned success of their pioneering trial of the four-day working week in Perpetual Guardian in 2018.

Since then, 4 Day Week Global has supported hundreds of companies from a variety of industries all over the world to run four-day week trials, or make the permanent transition to reduced hour, productivity focused working.

Their approach is based on the 100-80-100™ principle designed by Lockhart alongside the Perpetual Guardian trial in 2018 - 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.

This model is proven to deliver both improved company productivity, efficiency and performance, alongside greater employee wellbeing, engagement, and work-life balance. Research from leading international academics suggest the four-day working week can be a truly triple-dividend policy: better for the economy, better for society, and better for the environment.

Initially established as a networking community for like-minded people and organizations interested in exploring the shorter working week and as a vehicle for global advocacy, 4 Day Week Global has grown to become the global market leader in supporting businesses and governments who wish to experiment with or implement work time reduction.

The development of 4 Day Week Global's pilot programme in 2021 has enabled the organization to respond to the exponential growth in demand for and interest in the four-day working week, and to shift to a model which can uniquely support employers and employees to run trials at scale.

The organization has now joined forces with some of the world's most prominent and preeminent experts in this field, including bringing on board dynamic leader and campaigner Joe O'Connor as chief executive officer, and author, speaker and consultant Alex Soojung-Kim Pang as global programs and development manager.

Its ambition is to make a four-day working week the new default and reduced working time the new standard. Its intention is to lead and grow the global movement for a shorter working week to make this a reality all over the world.

Buy Andrew Barnes’ book, ‘The 4 Day Week; How the flexible work revolution can increase productivity, profitability and well-being, and create a sustainable future’, here.

UK Companies in 4 Day week Pilot Reach Landmark Halfway Point

Companies Report Their Successes and Lessons to Date

At the halfway point of a groundbreaking six-month trial of a four-day week pilot programme in the United Kingdom, data points and qualitative feedback are flowing in. The indicative research being gathered by 4 Day Week Global reveals a general tenor of positive experiences alongside valuable lessons for some organisations that are striving to change decades of ingrained work cultures and systems.

More than 70 organisations signed up for the six-month trial, which kicked off at the beginning of June and is being run by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with leading think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University and Boston College. More than 3,300 employees are getting a paid day off weekly through the course of the trial. 

4 Day Week Global CEO Joe O’Connor says, “The organisations in the United Kingdom pilot are contributing real-time data and knowledge that are worth their weight in gold. Essentially, they are laying the foundation for the future of work by putting a four-day week into practice, across every size of business and nearly every sector, and telling us exactly what they are finding as they go.

“We are learning that for many it is a fairly smooth transition and for some there are some understandable hurdles – especially among those which have comparatively fixed or inflexible practices, systems, or cultures which date back well into the last century.  

“While for most organisations the pilot prompts many pleasing discoveries and outcomes – a lot of businesses have more flexibility and nimbleness among their people and teams that leaders often know at the outset – there is friction for others, and this can be based on a variety of factors, many of which can be addressed or substantially improved in the pilot itself. 4 Day Week Global and our partners are supporting these businesses to ease their transition to a flexible work model, and using the findings to inform the process for many more businesses to trial, adapt, and reap the benefits of emphasising productivity over time – thereby transforming the world of work for all of us.”

 Some of the organisations undertaking the UK pilot include: 5 Squirrels (Brighton and Hove), Adzooma (Nottingham), AKA Case Management (Nottingham, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester), Allcap Limited (Gloucester), Amplitude (Northampton), Bedrock Learning (Norwich), Bookishly (Northamptonshire), Boom Studios (Northern Ireland), Charity Bank (Kent), Comcen (Swansea), Debt Justice (London), Eurowagens (Letchworth), Everledger (London, Birmingham, Manchester), Evolution Money Limited (Manchester), Future Talent Learning (London) Girling Jones (Exeter), Happy (London) Helping Hands (Warwickshire), Hutch (London), IE Brand (Birmingham), Literal Humans (London), Loud Mouth Media (Belfast, Glasgow), Merthyr Valley Homes Limited (Merthyr Tydfil), MOX (London), NeatClean (Stratford-Upon-Avon), Outcomes Based Healthcare (London), Outcomes First Group (Bolton), Platten’s Fish and Chips (North Norfolk), Pressure Drop Brewing (London), Rivelin Robotics (Sheffield), Royal Society of Biology (London), salamandra.uk, Scotland's International Development Alliance (Edinburgh), Secure Digital Exchange Ltd (London), Sensat (London), Sounds Like These (London), Stellar Asset Management (London), Stemettes (London), The Story Mob (London), Timberlake Consultants Ltd / TLKE Ltd (London), Trio Media (Leeds and London), Tyler Grange (Rendcomb, Cirencester), Unity (London), Waterwise (Remote work), We Are Purposeful (London), Yo Telecom (Southampton)

 A plurality of views and diversity of approaches to the pilot is evident among respondents to a brief internal check-in survey of the participating companies, undertaken around the pilot’s halfway point. A series of questions were posed with a multi-choice answer on a scale of 1 to 5. Of those that responded (41 out ocompanies):

• 88% of respondents stated that the four-day week is working ‘well’ for their business at this stage in the trial;

• 46% of respondents say their business productivity has ‘maintained around the same level’, while 34% report that it has ‘improved slightly’, and 15% say it has ‘improved significantly;

• On how smooth the transition to a four-day week has been (with 5 being ‘extremely smooth’ and ‘1’ being ‘extremely challenging’), 29% of respondents selected ‘5’, 49% selected ‘4’ and 20% selected ‘3’;

• 86% of respondents stated that at this juncture in the trial, they would be ‘extremely likely’ and or ‘likely’ to consider retaining the four-day week policy after the trial period.

Claire Daniels, CEO at Trio Media, says, "The four-day week trial so far has been extremely successful for us. Productivity has remained high, with an increase in wellness for the team, along with our business performing 44% better financially."

 Sharon Platts, Chief People Officer for Outcomes First Group, says, “The four-day week [pilot] has been transformational for us so far. We've been delighted to see productivity and output increase and have also been able to make it work in our education and care services, which we thought would be far more challenging. While it's still early days, our confidence in continuing beyond the trial is growing and the impact on colleague wellbeing has been palpable."

 An anonymous respondent stated that, “Radically rethinking the real value of everything you do as a business is never going to be seamless. To just try and cram the same work into shorter hours completely misunderstands the problem we are seeking to fix. The four-day week pilot has already shown us that there are things we could have implemented years ago which would have improved our productivity and offered increased value for the organisations we work with.”

 And likewise, Nicci Russell, the Managing Director of Waterwise, says the pilot initially involved a learning curve. 'We're proud to be involved in the trial and it's going well for us. It wasn't a walk in the park at the start, but no major change ever is, and we were well briefed and prepared by the 4 Day Week Global team. We have all had to work at it - some weeks are easier than others and things like annual leave can make it harder to fit everything in - but we're much more settled with it now overall than we were at the start. We managed to incorporate a big media blitz on water efficiency - water efficiency is our bread and butter - over the summer, which added to workload, but we still managed to stick to the four-day week and the standard working hours, and the team are pretty happy. We certainly all love the extra day out of the office and do come back refreshed. It's been great for our wellbeing and we're definitely more productive already.' 

Globally, small companies to large corporates in diverse sectors have boldly embraced the productivity-focused, reduced-hour model of work with the support of 4 Day Week Global, as pilot programmes also roll out in North America, Ireland, and Australia and New Zealand in 2022. 

 From a local chippy to large corporates, companies in the UK pilot range from small enterprises to large corporates and span most sectors: education, workplace consultancy, leadership, personal development, and IT software training; district-based business improvement; professional development and legal training; automotive supply services; online retail; sustainable homecare; skincare; telco; animation studios; building and construction recruitment services; food and beverage and hospitality; digital marketing; and comprehensive case management services for people recovering from traumatic injury.

 Many of these initial pilot entrants sprang from a series of well-subscribed information sessions in early 2022, which were led by the not-for-profit 4 Day Week Global and attended by leaders from hundreds of UK organisations. 

 4 Day Week Global is a multinational coalition of businesspeople, academics, researchers and authors collaborating to make the productivity-focused flexible work model a reality. The coalition is driving the biggest change in work since the shift to a five-day week a century ago. 

 Founders, employers and employees can find out more about the 4 Day Week and the pilot program at www.4dayweek.com

ends

 For more information:

4 Day Week Global

Global campaigns and activation officer

media@4dayweek.com 

About 4 Day Week Global:

4 Day Week Global was founded in New Zealand by 4 Day Week architect Andrew Barnes alongside entrepreneur and philanthropist Charlotte Lockhart in 2019, following the world-renowned success of their pioneering trial of the four-day working week in Perpetual Guardian in 2018.

Since then, 4 Day Week Global has supported hundreds of companies from a variety of industries all over the world to run four-day week trials, or make the permanent transition to reduced hour, productivity focused working.

Their approach is based on the 100-80-100™ principle designed by Lockhart alongside the Perpetual Guardian trial in 2018 - 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.

This model is proven to deliver both improved company productivity, efficiency and performance, alongside greater employee wellbeing, engagement, and work-life balance. Research from leading international academics suggest the four-day working week can be a truly triple-dividend policy: better for the economy, better for society, and better for the environment.

Initially established as a networking community for like-minded people and organizations interested in exploring the shorter working week and as a vehicle for global advocacy, 4 Day Week Global has grown to become the global market leader in supporting businesses and governments who wish to experiment with or implement work time reduction.

The development of 4 Day Week Global's pilot programme in 2021 has enabled the organization to respond to the exponential growth in demand for and interest in the four-day working week, and to shift to a model which can uniquely support employers and employees to run trials at scale.

The organization has now joined forces with some of the world's most prominent and preeminent experts in this field, including bringing on board dynamic leader and campaigner Joe O'Connor as chief executive officer, and author, speaker and consultant Alex Soojung-Kim Pang as global programs and development manager.

Its ambition is to make a four-day working week the new default and reduced working time the new standard. Its intention is to lead and grow the global movement for a shorter working week to make this a reality all over the world.

Buy Andrew Barnes’ book, ‘The 4 Day Week; How the flexible work revolution can increase productivity, profitability and well-being, and create a sustainable future’, here.

About Autonomy and The 4 Day Week UK Campaign

• Autonomy is a leading independent think tank focused on the future of work: https://autonomy.work/

• The 4 Day Week Campaign is the UK's national campaigning organisation for a four-day, 32 hour working week with no reduction in pay: https://www.4dayweek.co.uk/

60 North American companies switch to a four-day week

Momentum for a four-day week in the US is building, with another 20 North American companies now signed up to a six-month pilot program where workers get an extra day off per week with no reduction in pay. This is based on the 100-80-100™ model, meaning workers get 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintaining at least 100% of the output.

These pioneering organizations are joining 40 others who began their journey with reduced-hour, productivity-focused working earlier this year in the first large-scale pilot of its kind run by non-profit, 4 Day Week Global. This brings the total number of US and Canadian companies to 60, with over 4,000 employees cumulatively participating in the trials.

Companies preparing for this phase of the trial, which launches in October, operate across a diverse range of industries. They offer services in the retail, construction, tech, marketing, design, finance and not-for-profit sectors, to name but a few. They include: 

• Graphic design agency, Friendly Design Co

• Technology company, Sensei Labs Inc

• Web and graphic design organization, Aeolidia

• Architecture and interior design firm, Peck Peck and Associates

These 20 organizations have chosen to embrace the benefits of a four-day week after attending a series of online information sessions hosted by 4 Day Week Global, with many others expected to make the move this year. 

Participants will have access to a package of support offered through the pilot program, including workshops delivered by international four-day week experts and pioneers, mentoring by four-day week business leaders, networking with other pilot companies and access to world-class academic research. 

4 Day Week Global CEO, Joe O’Connor said: “More than a century after we invented the five-day week, the pandemic has paved the way for us to fundamentally rethink how we live and work. It's long past time for us to challenge the work practices and norms that were designed for the second industrial era, and recognize that we have the productive capacity and technological tools at our disposal for the future of work to be shorter and smarter.

“Business leaders from the first round of trials are already witnessing the positive impact on their organizations, and I’m sure this second wave of pioneers will reap those same rewards and enjoy the competitive advantage the four-day week brings.”

One company making the move is Friendly Design Co, a strategic design studio based in Washington, D.C. and Omaha, NE that collaborates with organizations who repair our world and strengthen our communities. 

Founding Partner, Geoff Silverstein said: “We’re excited to join this next phase of the North American pilot and use 4 Day Week Global’s expertise to execute a smooth and successful four-day week trial here at Friendly Design Co.

“Our organization believes in collaborating to foster positive change in the world, and giving our team back one day of the week is a great way to do that. This will not only provide team members with time to fuel their own passions, but also yield the work/life balance necessary to achieve inspired outcomes for our clients and our communities.

“The four-day week is an investment in our organization and our people, as well as an investment in our communities and society.”

End-to-end field services management software company, simPRO can already attest to the benefits of a four-day week, as they near the end of their six-month trial which began earlier this year. 

CEO, Sean Diljore said: “After talking to our team about what they wanted coming out of the changes wrought by the pandemic, a better work/life balance was at the top of the list. 

“We consulted with the great team at 4 Day Week Global and joined their pilot program. As you can imagine, since we have a global workforce, we needed consultation on how to implement the four-day week on a global scale and not hamper collaboration or customer service. 

“The program has been a massive success for our employees, our leaders, and our customers. Most importantly, it has shown our team that we are listening to their feedback.”

While final first-phase pilot results won’t be available until it concludes later this summer, researchers are already observing some very positive trends.  

4 Day Week Global Research Lead at Boston College, Professor Juliet Schor said: “Results from halfway through our first trial are extremely encouraging. Employees report statistically significant changes such as less stress and burnout, better physical and mental health, more satisfaction with their lives and availability of time, and better and more sleep.

“We look forward to seeing if during the next three months these improvements become even more marked.”

UK 4 day week pilot begins with 70 companies and 3300 workers

70 UK companies and over 3300 workers will begin working a 4 day week with no loss of pay today in the biggest ever 4 day week pilot to take place anywhere in the world so far.

Participating organisations are trialling a 4 day week with no loss of pay for employees, based on the principle of the 100:80:100™ model - 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintain at least 100% productivity.

The pilot is running for 6 months and is being organised by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with leading think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University and Boston College.

From a local chippy to large corporates, companies in the UK pilot provide products and services ranging from education to workplace consultancy; banking; care; financial services; IT software training; professional development and legal training; housing; automotive supply services; online retail; sustainable homecare; skincare; telco; animation studios; building and construction recruitment services; food and beverage and hospitality; digital marketing; and comprehensive case management services for people recovering from traumatic injury.

Researchers will work with each participating organisation to measure the impact on productivity in the business and the wellbeing of its workers, as well as the impact on the environment and gender equality.

Government backed 4 day week trials are also due to begin later this year in Spain and Scotland.

Joe O Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, said:

“The UK is at the crest of a wave of global momentum behind the 4 day week.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognising that the new frontier for competition is quality of life, and that reduced-hour, output-focused working is the vehicle to give them a competitive edge.

“The impact of the 'great resignation' is now proving that workers from a diverse range of industries can produce better outcomes while working shorter and smarter.”

Juliet Schor, Professor of Sociology at Boston College, and lead researcher on the pilot, said:

“I'm excited to be working on the research side for this historic trial.

“We'll be analyzing how employees respond to having an extra day off, in terms of stress and burnout, job and life satisfaction, health, sleep, energy use, travel and many other aspects of life.

“The 4 day week is generally considered to be a triple dividend policy - helping employees, companies, and the climate. Our research efforts will be digging into all of this.”

Ed Siegel, CEO of Charity Bank, who are participating in the pilot, said:

“We have long been a champion of flexible working, but the pandemic really moved the goalposts in this regard. For Charity Bank the move to a 4 day week seems a natural next step.

“The 20th-century concept of a five-day working week is no longer the best fit for 21st-century business. We firmly believe that a 4 day week with no change to salary or benefits will create a happier workforce and will have an equally positive impact on business productivity, customer experience and our social mission.

“We are proud to be one of the first banks in the UK to embrace the 4 day week and as one of our Board members put it, we believe ‘this trial will put Charity Bank on the right side of history.’”

Some of the businesses taking part are as follows:

• 5 Squirrels

• Adzooma

• AKA Case Management

• Allcap Limited

• Amplitude

• Bedrock Learning

• Bookishly

• Boom Studios

• Charity Bank

• Comcen

• Eurowagens

• Everledger

• Evolution Money Limited

• Future Talent Learning

• Girling Jones

• Happy

• Helping Hands

• Hutch

• IE Brand

• Literal Humans

• Loud Mouth Media

• Merthyr Valley Homes Limited

• MOX

• NeatClean

• Outcomes Based Healthcare

• Outcomes First Group

• Platten’s Fish and Chips

• Pressure Drop Brewing

• Rivelin Robotics

• Royal Society of Biology

• salamandra.uk

• Scotland's International Development Alliance

• Secure Digital Exchange Ltd

• Sensat

• Sounds Like These

• Stellar Asset Management

• Stemettes

• The Story Mob

• Timberlake Consultants Ltd / TLKE Ltd

• Trio Media

• Tyler Grange

• Unity

• Waterwise

• We Are Purposeful

• Yo Telecom

CASE STUDY: Platten’s Fish and Chips

Staff at Plattens Fish and Chips in Wells-Next-The-Sea, North Norfolk are excited about taking part in the pilot.

General Manager Kirsty Wainwright, 34, is already working a 4 day week and is confident the pilot roll out across the business for all staff is going to be a success. Instead of a three day weekend, staff are going to be rotating their days with two days on followed by two days off.

Kirsty has been working in the hospitality industry for 17 years and is a mother of two children. She said: “The option of working a 4 day week was the main reason for choosing to work here.

“The hospitality industry has really unsociable working hours and it needs to change. It's not surprising the industry has been struggling with recruitment given the excessively long working hours.

“On a five day week I didn't get to see my kids enough. Spending more time with my kids is the best thing about a 4 day week. It's amazing.

“Having that extra rest and not feeling exhausted means I can be more productive at work too.”

Wyatt Watts, 25, Team Leader at Platten's, enjoys exercising at the gym and playing football but feels a five day working week leaves him very tired and without enough time to exercise. He says working in the hospitality industry can be “very strenuous.”

“When I first heard we were going to be working less hours with the same pay I thought to myself what's the catch, it sounds too good to be true,” said Wyatt.

“I'm hoping it's going to allow me to have more time for personal development, socialising with friends and going to the gym. Usually I'm so exhausted from work I don't have the energy so hopefully having that extra time to rest will boost my energy levels.

“The impact of making the decision to take part in the pilot has already had an extremely positive impact on the team. Morale has improved and we're hoping that our productivity at work is going to be higher, meaning that stuff can get done quicker.

“Having a 4 day week has left me feeling a lot more positive about staying and working in the industry.”

Luke Platten, the Director of Platten's Fish and Chips, said:

“Making memories is our purpose and our passion, so we strive to exceed the expectations of our team, customers and community. Our team believes the 4 day week perfectly aligns with our values to provide the win-win position for everyone involved.”