Firms stick to four-day week after trial ends

 Firms stick to four-day week after trial ends

Firms stick to four-day week after trial ends

Faye Johnson-Smith thought it was too good to be true when her boss said she could have every Wednesday off without a cut in her pay.

Her firm was taking part in a six-month trial, testing the costs and benefits of a four-day week on full pay.

Like most of the workers involved, Faye felt healthier and happier as a result of working shorter hours.

But at the end of the trial almost all the 61 employers involved were also keen to keep the new work pattern.

The scheme, which took place between June and December 2022, involved organisations across the UK from a brewery to a fish and chip shop, software developers to recruitment firms.

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A report assessing its impact has found it had "extensive benefits" particularly for employees' well-being.

Its authors argue it could herald a shift in attitudes, so that before long we could all see a mid-week break or a three-day weekend as normal.

The workers getting 100% pay for 80% of the hours

Faye works as a supervisor for Citizens Advice in Gateshead where around 200 staff took part in the scheme.

She says having the day off gives her time to "recover and recuperate".

As a result, she arrives back at work "ready to hit the ground running" and, she reckons, achieves as much, if not more, in her four days than she used to in five.

Her colleague, Bethany Lawson, says she finds her team easier to manage now most of them are on a four-day week, leaving her more time to get on, and she also finds she can push herself a little bit further after a day to "reset".

Bethany from Citizens Advice Gateshead

Image caption,

Being told she could work a four-day week felt like winning the lottery, says Bethany

But for a four-day week on full pay to work across the economy, employers will need to see productivity gains.

Workers will need to create the services and products in four days that they were creating in five to make enough money to pay a full week's wages.

That kind of productivity growth has proved an intractable challenge for the UK economy. It has fallen behind many other rich nations in the amount of value created per worker in recent years, with competing explanations as to why and how that might be fixed.

The report's authors argue that although the trial was amongst organisations that volunteered to join, and were therefore more likely to make it work, the results make a strong case for a shorter working week.