Britain is trying a six-month pilot program to test a four-day work week|DavidMartynHunt|CC BY 2.0
From retail services to financial firms, more than 3,300 employees across 70 companies in the UK started the four-day work week trial Monday. The pilot program will run for six months, in which employees will work for four days from Monday with no loss of pay.
The trial
The four-day work week trial is based on the 100:80:100 model—employees earn 100% of their pay, work for 80% of their previous work schedule, and maintain 100% productivity.
Industries like banking, health care, marketing, and retail will be involved—and the researchers will determine through data collected during interviews and employee surveys if we actually need to work only for four days a week.
But we will have to wait till 2023 for the result of the trials.
The significance
The concept of a four-day work week is gaining popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic when people started working remotely. A recent US survey found that 92% of employees prefer to work four days for 10-hours instead of five days for eight hours.
The UK's six-month trial will help answer important questions, including employee satisfaction and the performance of the company’s operations.
Upcoming trials
With workplaces striving to restructure workflow for their employees, companies in Ireland and Australia will start the four-day work week trials in August. The US and Canada will begin trials in October.
