New four-day workweek trial: will it work?

Brits are desperate for their workplace to become one of the UK companies that have adopted a four-day week. Being able to work a four-day week will be at the top of many employees’ Christmas list this year; and for a lucky few, Xmas has come early.

On Monday, the UK’s second four-day week trial began. Run by the 4 Day Week Campaign and consultancy firm Timewise, the pilot will see 21 organisations with roughly 1,000 employees switch to the four-day week model for six months, ending next May.

Commenters have noted that this will be the first four-day week trial under a Labour government. There are hopes that this latest attempt could even make its way into policy.

But just how successful was the last trial — and will this latest attempt be any different?

What happened last time?

17 organisations, including law firm Rook Irwin Sweeney and brewer Crate Brewery, have already begun trialling the four-day model. Four more will join later next year. Their staff will now work fewer hours equating to one day less per week — crucially, with no loss of pay.

Participators this week expressed excitement about the move. Georgia Pearson, manager at Crate Brewery, expressed hope it would “aid recruitment, particularly in support office roles.”

Their optimism likely stems from the UK’s last four-day week trial in 2022. Researcher Autonomy, which ran that pilot, detailed a long list of positive impacts in its report.

Convincingly, of 61 participants, 92% chose to continue with the trial, while 18 introduced the benefit as a permanent change. Of these, most cited a boost to morale for the decision.

“Data shows that 39% of employees were less stressed, and 71% had reduced levels of burnout at the trial’s end,” reads the Autonomy report. Other reported benefits were lower staff turnover and greater work-life balance; all without a fall in revenue for employers.

Four-day flaws

Continuing with the trial does not necessarily spell ‘resounding success’, however. When Autonomy returned to its 61 subjects one year later, only 29 had made the policy permanent.

51% is not to be scoffed at. But it does mean that, if the outcome is similar the second-time around, just under half of the 21 organisations taking part in the 2024 trial will choose not to implement the perk in a year’s time.

What unites these four-day week flip-floppers is their approach. Autonomy’s follow-up report states that firms with ‘conditional’ four-day week policies, such as asking staff to meet targets to earn a day off, saw fewer improvements to work-life balance and job satisfaction.

Indeed, as the four-day week has grown in popularity, many businesses are introducing tightly controlled policies that can impact success rate.

Take Asda. The grocery giant asked staff to work a compressed week (the same hours over fewer days) rather than reduced (less hours with no pay cut), causing a rise in worker stress. As a result, it scrapped the policy four months into its own six-month trial.

Labour’s four-day week plan

One person who will likely be watching the latest trial closely will be the Prime Minister. Before it came to power, several senior politicians in the Labour party expressed support for the policy, including deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.

The new government has since doubled down on flexible working rights with its Employment Rights Bill, arguing that work from home policies may help to improve productivity.

In a speech to journalists, Sir Keir Starmer said businesses needed to find a “making the most of the flexible working practices [and] having appropriate arrangements in place” to tackle the emerging culture of “presenteeism” in UK workplaces.

Despite it being rumoured to appear in the Autumn Statement, though, the government has stopped short of sponsoring a four-day week bill amid concerns over how it would impact firms. This latest trial will be a chance to prove out the concept on a national stage.

Claire Campbell, chief executive at Timewise, agrees. Commenting on the trial, Campbell said: “It’s great to see a wide range of employers participating in this latest trial.

“We look forward to sharing the results next year, adding to the body of evidence that supporting people with choices about their working lives makes business sense.”