Firms that tried 4-day week ‘set to stick with it’

THE traditional five-day working week may one day be the exception, not the rule, claim campaigners.

Nearly nine in ten companies taking part in a four-day week trial are likely to continue rolling out the scheme, their survey has found.

The six-month trial began in June, with more than 3,300 workers in 70 organisations involved across sectors such as retail, construction, food and hospitality.

At the halfway stage, 88 per cent of those involved said it was working well, with 86 per cent saying they may keep the shorter week after the experiment has finished.

The trial is being co-ordinated by campaigners 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the UK think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and researchers at Cambridge University, Boston College and Oxford University.

Kyle Lewis of Autonomy, said positive feedback from 41 firms was ‘incredibly encouraging’. Nearly half (46 per cent) said productivity was ‘around the same level’ while 34 per cent saw a slight improvement and 15 per cent a significant one.