Yes, We Can Be Productive in a Four-Day Work Week

Halfway through the four-day workweek pilot taking place across the United Kingdom, the results are looking quite promising: productivity has either remained high or has even improved, suggesting that the traditional working week can be reduced without impairing business.

“The organizations in the United Kingdom pilot are contributing real-time data and knowledge that are worth their weight in gold,” says Joe O’Connor, CEO of the nonprofit 4 Day Week Global. “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.”

More than 3,300 employees throughout the United Kingdom embarked on a six-month pilot program last June to test the efficacy of a four-day workweek, and after three months, 88% of surveyed participants affirm that the shorter workweek works well for their business. For 86% of them, the four-day workweek is here to stay. A total of 46% of participants even saw an increase in productivity. A whopping 98% rated the four-day work week a 3 three or higher – 1 being “extremely challenging” to 5 being “extremely smooth”. High-level executives from companies involved in the project weighed in, like Trio Media, whose CEO Claire Daniels said that “productivity has remained high, with an increase in wellness for the team, along with our business performing 44% better financially.”