4-Day week trial kicks off in UK with thousands taking part

LONDON - A nationwide trial of a four-day working week began in the United Kingdom on Monday, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

It involves 70 companies and over 3,300 workers, making it the largest pilot of its kind in the world.

A four-day working week does not involve a loss of pay for employees, who will be asked to maintain 100 per cent productivity while working 80 per cent of their hours.

The trial will measure worker well-being and business productivity, as well as impacts on the environment and gender equality.

The pilot is being run by the non-profit group 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK national campaign, and researchers from Cambridge and Oxford universities and Boston College.

Joe O’Connor, chief executive of 4 Day Week Global, said the UK is "at the crest of a wave of global momentum behind the four-day week.”

"As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognising that the new frontier for competition is quality of life, and that reduced-hour, output-focused working is the vehicle to give them a competitive edge,” he said.

"The impact of the ‘great resignation’ is now proving that workers from a diverse range of industries can produce better outcomes while working shorter and smarter.”

Scotland will undergo a similar trial later this year, while other European countries such as Belgium, Iceland and Sweden, as well as Japan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have also tested shorter workweek models. - BERNAMA