4-day week made permanent for 89% UK firms who took part in Worlds biggest trial

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/feb/21/four-day-week-made-permanent-for-most-uk-firms-in-worlds-biggest-trial

by robaato • 2 years ago

56 29 2 years ago

robaato• 2 years ago

Clarifying - not 89% of UK firms overall - but those in the trial! Of the 61 organisations that took part in a six-month UK pilot in 2022, 54 (89%) are still operating the policy a year later, and 31 (51%) have made the change permanent.

oluwie• 2 years ago

i think that's implied by accurately reading the title

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF• 2 years ago

It is but the title also appears to be wrong. It was only made permanent for 51% (31 of 61) of those in the trial. The 89% are still operating the policy but that haven't necessarily formally adopted it as permanent.

Research shows 51% that took part permanently adopted the change, while 89% still operating policy one year on

webel0• 2 years ago

Most gave their staff one full day off a week, either universal or staggered.

I think that this will start to take off if stakeholders can start to coalesce around a single day. Either Monday or Friday. Once you build up the expectation that people are off on a given day, it becomes that much easier for a new firm to adopt (because, e.g., none of their counterparties are in the office).

dugmartin• 2 years ago

I’d rather it was Wednesday I think. Work two days, have a day off, work two days and have two days off seems more attractive to me long term.

r2_pilot3• 2 years ago

I've found when I take mental health days they tend to be on Wednesdays (usually afternoon only), which tracks.

dave4420• 2 years ago

I agree with you, but I think plenty of people would prefer to go away for a three day weekend holiday sometimes.

davkan• 2 years ago

Having a 3 day weekend is like have second Saturday whereas Wednesday off is like having another Sunday in the middle of your work week. Saturdays are worth so much more imo. Waking up and knowing you don’t have to work today or tomorrow. That was my experience doing 2 on 2 off vs 4 on 3 off when I did shift work.

TrackerFF• 2 years ago

Last time I discussed (results from a similar study) this with some higher ups, their knee-jerk reactions was: "If they managed to deliver as much in 4 days as they previously did in 5 days, then it sounds like they were slacking off more prior to the experiment."

I think that for some leaders, no data in the world is going to convince them that one day less of butts in the seat can be a positive thing. They'll forever chase the idea of maximizing 5-day workweeks, and that's that.

BriggyDwiggs42• 2 years ago

Change will probably come when they age out

toomuchtodo2• 2 years ago

Progress occurs one funeral at a time. - Max Planck

grecy3• 2 years ago

That sounds like a very clear sign it's time for you to fire your boss and find a better one.

deprecative2• 2 years ago

When 99.9%+ of all jobs worth having will be 5 day work weeks it's irrelevant. Then you have how utter garbage the job market is right now and that's a bad time waiting to happen. People really need to get over their bootstraps fantasy and start realizing the problem is systemic.

thegrim33• 2 years ago

"All the data in the world" is an article like this that refers to a multiple year old study, but of course refuses to link to the study, which describes a grand total of 31 "organizations" that supposedly switched to 4 day work week? (I guess "89% of participants" sounds a lot more convincing as a headline)

An article that refers to a study, which is positive about a 4 day work week, which was written by someone who works for a company that advocates for 4 day work weeks? A study which was literally written by somebody who over 30 years has made it their career to push this idea, and who directly financially benefits from pushing the idea? Written by somebody who profits by selling multiple books about how "overworked" Americans are?

Man, they've sure convinced me. I guess the millions/billions of companies across the world that don't do 4 day work week just really have no idea what they're doing. Those 36 data points provided by the most biased author you could possibly find really is all the data in the world.

toomuchtodo2• 2 years ago

Genuine question: What would convince you?

hirvi743• 2 years ago

Perhaps those higher ups are right?

I know I slack off, but I also have absolutely no incentive not too. I have always been told that the reward for digging the biggest hole is a bigger shovel.

If higher ups want to play a shitty game, then don't get mad at a shitty reward.

johnnyanmac3• 2 years ago

Right for the wrong reasons. If we had a 7 day workweek and it's not as efficient, it's clearly because they are slacking off and have no team spirit.

Slacking off is the uncharitable way to describe at best middling returns and at worst burnout. no one's 100% 24/7. That's why more demanding jobs have even less hours, like firefighters or athletes. The brain is a bit more "durable", but is still just another muscle at the end of the day.

dsq• 2 years ago

Don't laugh, but it may be the biggest impetus to a 4 day week will be the drive to a three day weekend, including Friday, Saturday and Sunday as covering the traditional days of rest of the three Abrahamic religions. This would have a lot of buy in from large parts of the population and politicians.

johnnyanmac3• 2 years ago

Religion drove a lot of nonsensical stuff in history, so I can believe it. I wouldn't mind it actually benefiting society for once.

4-day week made permanent for 89% UK firms who took part in Worlds biggest trial

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