Britain: The first results of the experiment of the four-day working week are positive

One experiment wide scale for the “four day work week” in the United Kingdomwhich started in June and will last six months, is already showing positive results, according to the interim results released on Tuesday (20/9) by the organizers.

More than 70 companies are participating in this experiment which allows more than 3,300 employees to work one day less per week, without a reduction in salary.

According to a survey carried out among the companies, to which more than half responded, 88% said that the four-day week was “working well for the business at this stage”. 86% of businesses also reported that they are “likely” or “very likely” to keep the four-day work week after the trial period is over.

The experiment was organized by the organization 4 Day Week Global in collaboration with the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.

Almost half of businesses responded that their productivity remained the same, a third that it “improved slightly” and 15% that it “improved significantly”.

“We see that for many (companies) the transition is quite smooth, but for some there are problems”, especially those that still maintain a “business culture of the last century”, commented Joe O’Connor, the managing director of 4 Day Week Global.

“The four-day week has so far been a great success in our company: productivity remains high, team (employee) well-being increases and financial performance also registers a 44% increasesaid Claire Daniels, director of Trio Media, a marketing company based in Leeds, northern England. “In the beginning, it wasn’t a healthy walk” and “some weeks are easier than others”, while difficulties arose when the holiday season started, explained Nicky Russell, chief executive of Waterwise, a non-governmental organization that promotes waste reduction. water in the UK.

Similar experiments have been or are still being conducted in Spain, Iceland, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.