4 Day Week Trial Results

Germany’s 4 Day Week Pilot Results

45 German companies trialled a 4 day work week in 2024. They recently published their findings in a report.

This is the second biggest 4 day week trial, and the first ever trial to include biometric data in its results.

Germany Four Day Week Pilot Results

Overall 4 Day Week Trial Results

We have run 4 day week trials in six continents. Our data supports the power of of work-time transformation.

64%

reported a reduction in burnout

54%

reported an increase in work ability

63%

found it easier to attract talent

36%

increase in revenue over previous year

42%

decrease in employee resignations

See the 4 Day Week Results from our Past Trials

Start your 4 Day Week Journey

With our years of expertise in helping businesses around the globe transition to a 4 day week, we have developed a suite of tools and programs to assist you in your work-time transformation journey.

Level 1: Preparation for a 4 Day Week

An online masterclass course comprised of 5 modules to prepare you for transitioning to a 4 Day Week.

Time to complete: 3 months

Level 2: Designing your 4 Day Week

Design and implement your 4 Day Week journey. Our team works with you to design, pilot and track the impact of your shorter workweek. Choose our National Program or Bespoke Consultancy route.

Time to complete: 12 months

Level 3: Mastering Work-Time Transformation

Our expert coaches will work with you to reduce work time, create a high performance team and master your 4 Day Week, sustainably.

Time to complete: Dependent on eligibility

Level 4: Becoming an accredited employer

Get recognized as a 4 Day Week Employer to attract and retain the best talent to unlock long-term benefits.

Time to complete: Dependent on eligibility

Global Insights

One day of paid work a week is all we need to get mental health benefits of employment

As automation advances, predictions of a jobless future have some fearing unrest from mass unemployment, while others imagine a more contented work-free society.

Aside from economic factors, paid employment brings other benefits – often psychological – such as self-esteem and social inclusion.

Now, researchers at the universities of Cambridge and Salford have set out to define a recommended “dosage” of work for optimal wellbeing.

Read the full article here.

Four Better or Four Worse?

Henley Business School’s research delves deeper into the pros and cons of four-day working week and whether it’s good for business.

Our research explores the relationships between these workers, what drives them, what their needs are and how businesses need to adapt to meet them.

Read the report here

Tips for Promoting Employee Well-Being & Mental Health in the Workplace by Rider University.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “for every US $1 put into scaled-up treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of US $4 in improved health and productivity.” Developing programs to support mental health in the workplace should be a priority for managers, senior leaders, and human resources professionals.

Read the full article here

Does Employee Happiness Have an Impact on Productivity?

This article provides quasi-experimental evidence on the relationship between employee happiness and productivity in the field. We study the universe of call center sales workers at British Telecom (BT), one of the United Kingdom’d largest private employers. We measure their happiness over a 6 month period using a novel weekly survey instrument, and link these reports with highly detailed administrative data on workplace behaviors and various measures of employee performance. We show that workers make around 13% more sales in weeks where they report being happy compared to weeks when they are unhappy.

Download the PDF here

The ROI in workplace mental health programs: Good for people, good for business.

Poor mental health among the workforce imposes tremendous costs on Canadian employers. Yet barriers to investment in workplace mental health remain, including a lack of knowledge of best practices, as well as a lack of evidence that such investments can have a positive impact on the bottom line.1 To overcome these barriers, Canadian employers require real-world evidence that workplace mental health programs are an investment that yields valuable returns, rather than a cost. This study, the first of its kind conducted within the Canadian context, provides such evidence.

Download the PDF here

Work Hours and CO2 Emissions: Evidence from U.S. Households

By Anders Fremstad, Mark Paul & Anthony Underwood, Review of Political Economy, 2019

The degrowth movement proposes worktime reduction policies to help high-income countries meet their climate goals while supporting full employment. However, the work hours elasticity of carbon emissions remains uncertain despite a growing number of empirical analyses. This paper estimates the impact of work hours on emissions using household data from the United States.

Download the PDF here

Time Poor and Unhappy

We're completely strapped for time because we don't know how to value it. Here's how to break out of that mindset. By Ashley Whillans, Harvard Business Review, January 2019.

Why the pursuit of money isn’t bringing you joy - and what will.

Download the PDF here

Health and safety at work

Work-related ill health and occupational disease in Great Britain. Occupational lung diseases contributing to estimated 12,000 annual current deaths in 2020.

Access the official data here

Reduced Work Hours as a Means of Slowing Climate Change

By David Rosnick, February 2013

This paper estimates the impact on climate change of reducing work hours over the rest of the century by an annual average of 0.5%.

Download the PDF here

Are Shorter Work Hours Good for the Environment?

A Comparison of U.S. and European Energy Consumption by David Rosnick and Mark Weisbrot, December 2006

If Americans chose to take advantage of their high level of productivity by shortening the workweek or taking longer vacations rather than producing more, there would follow a number of benefits.

Download the PDF