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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.
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.
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 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.
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
New Zealand
Elsewhere
Click here to learn more about our pilot programs
Click here to register for a pilot program information session
20 companies to switch to a 4 day work week across Australia and New Zealand
Ahead of this week’s federal election, described by one major news outlet as the “don’t-talk-about-climate-change election”, 20 companies in Australia and New Zealand are taking matters into their own hands by embarking on a climate-friendly four-day week.
Ahead of this week’s Australian federal election, described by one major news outlet as the “don’t-talk-about-climate-change election”, 20 companies in Australia and New Zealand are taking matters into their own hands by embarking on a climate-friendly 4 day week. The organisations will kick off a six-month reduced working time pilot in August, with the Australasian trial, run by 4 Day Week Global, giving employees an extra day off per week with no loss of pay. This is based on the 100:80:100™ model where workers get 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintain at least 100% productivity.
A key benefit of the 4 day week is that it is better for the environment, as 4 Day Week Global research partner Professor Juliet Schor explained in her recent TED talk. The principle of giving all staff a weekly day off – whether the same day for everyone or staggered across the workforce – is that it cuts overall company commuting by 20 percent, and correspondingly reduces energy expenditure in the workplace, resulting in a lowered carbon footprint for any business operating on a 4 day week.
The pioneering organisations preparing for the trial provide services across a diverse range of industries, from finance to fashion. They include:
· Technology firm Our Community;
· Marketing and communications agency The Walk;
· Education and business consultancy Haemata Limited;
· Finance company More Than Mortgages;
· Health and well-being organisation Momentum Mental Health;
· And others in the technology, healthcare, construction and retail sectors.
These organisations moved to embrace reduced-hour, productivity-focused working after attending a series of online information sessions hosted by 4 Day Week Global. Many others are expected to make the move this year. Participating companies will have access to a package of support offered through the pilot programme, including workshops delivered by international 4 day week experts and pioneers, mentoring by 4 day week business leaders, networking with other pilot companies and access to world-class academic research. The pilot will be followed by researchers at Auckland University of Technology, University of Queensland, University of Sydney and Boston College.
The Australian social entrepreneurship body Our Community is among the companies embarking on the trial in August. It creates and disseminates practical, affordable training, leadership and technological solutions that allow not-for-profit and grant-making organisations to get on with the crucial work of building stronger communities.
Our Community CEO Denis Moriarty says, “Our Community has been a traditional office-based company and with what we have learned in the past two years, we are now in a position to implement changes, trust employees to maintain productivity and make sure work-life balance is supported. Most of all, we are responding to the shift we are seeing with employees having more of a voice about what they want work to look like in the future.
“Companies cannot grow, achieve social impact or reach amazing valuations and new heights without their staff. It's time we as leaders find ways to return some of this investment to them, not just in wages, bonuses and equity, but with time, so they can use the rest of those things to build a life they love.”
Andrew Barnes, the entrepreneur who conceived the 4 day week and went on to establish 4 Day Week Global, says the climate crisis cannot be solved without a revolutionary, global change in how people work. “We recognised well before the pandemic that the five-day week is no longer fit for purpose, and as we trialed and studied the 4 day week it became clear that this is a necessary part of the solution to restore climate balance, among many other documented benefits. We simply cannot go on as we have been, and we welcome the forward-thinking companies and business leaders in Australasia who are driving this change and showing the path forward.”
Charlotte Lockhart, managing director and founder of 4 Day Week Global, highlighted the significance of the milestone: “This is a crucial first step in Australia and New Zealand to begin a South Pacific conversation on the future of work and the 4 day week, following the advances made by companies in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and beyond. It’s very exciting to see these organisations demonstrating leadership by supporting their employees’ wellbeing and work-life balance while maintaining and even raising productivity.”
Professor John Quiggin of the School of Economics at the University of Queensland is one of the academics who will be tracking the success of the Australasian pilot. He welcomed the enthusiasm shown for it to date: “The 4 day working week is an idea whose time has come. Experimentation will be needed to see how best to implement a shorter working week, and the recruitment of the first 20 companies to the 4 Day Week Global Australasian pilot study is an important step towards this goal, providing valuable evidence.”
Professor John Buchanan of the University of Sydney Business School says, “In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Australia pioneered reductions in the length of the working day and working week. It is really exciting that we could be re-discovering a spirit of genuine innovation and social progress in this part of the world. Researchers at the Universities of Sydney and Queensland and Auckland University of Technology are partnering with the trial of the 4 day week in Australasia to ensure we learn from the best of what the pathfinders discover and avoid repeating any mistakes they make.”
Employers or employees interested in participating in the Australasian pilot can find more information here.