Biggest project on 4-day week: 4-day working trial will start in UK from Monday, reducing working hours to 80% and salary 100%

Four-day working trial is going to start in Britain from Monday. This is the world’s largest pilot project to change the way we work. This project will run for 6 months in which about 70 companies are participating. During the trial, the employees may work for 4 days, but they will get full salary. That is, 100% salary will be available for 80% of the hours worked. The purpose of this trial is to make employees more productive.

The experiment will be managed in partnership with scholars from Oxford and Cambridge universities as well as expert think tank Autonomy from Boston College in the US. From software development companies to local shops are getting involved in this. Juliet Shore, chief researcher of the project and economist and sociologist at Boston College, said the UK trial is historic. It will involve around 3000 employees from 70 companies.

no point in sticking to the old ways

Juliet said, the problem with a 5-day week is that the work can be expanded according to the time available. There is no point in sticking to this age-old time-based system. That said, you can be 100% productive in many workplaces 80% of the time, and companies around the world have shown this. However, the researcher also agreed that this idea would not suit a profession like health care.

Increase in productivity after 4-day week

Girling Jones, a small construction recruitment firm in Exeter, has started a 4-day week in January. This firm is also involved in this pilot project. Company’s founder Simon Garling said that since the 4-day week, productivity has increased, which has also increased profits. He said, ‘All our inputs – calls, meetings, interviews, are up … quite simply everyone is getting more work done in less time.’

Employees very happy with 4-day week

Employees are also happy with 4-day week. Alain Andreasson, an employee of the company, said that she uses her off to rest. He said, ‘I am definitely more motivated. This has greatly improved my sleep as well. His colleague Josh Cockerill said that he is able to spend more time with his daughter. This is helping them save money on nursery fees.