Over the past six months nearly 3000 people have taken part in the largest four day working week trial. The trial saw companies offer their employees an extra day off each week without a pay cut, but what do the results tell us?

Perhaps surprisingly (or not, as the case may be) the results are overwhelmingly positive. 56 out of 61 of the companies who took part in the trial are continuing with the four day week, ranging from small local businesses to large, corporate organisations.

Following the Covid19 pandemic, the way we work and want to work has drastically changed with more and more people wanting flexible and remote working so it’s no surprise that businesses are trialing new ways to improve the work-life balance people are so desperate for. The four-day week does exactly that, research shows that 7 out of 10 people taking part in the trial felt less burnout than working five days, taking the opportunity to utilise the additional time to get on top of housework leaving the weekend free for relaxing and spending time with family and friends.

Despite having less hours to complete assigned work loads productivity actually improved in the majority of work places taking part. As a nation we have bought into the concept that the longer you work the more you will get done but actually the reverse may be closer to the truth. Being busier at work does not directly correlate to feeling more stressed, having a day free to sort out “life-admin” and get on top of jobs outside of the workplace was proven to give people a better sense of well being and resulting in less daily stress.

Finally, 2021 recorded the greatest number of sick days than any other year in the past decade. The government is pushing for fewer people on long-term sick according to the Telegraph, with doctors being told to fully assess before signing people off work. Reports from the trial show that during the 6 months there was a 65 percent reduction in people taking sick days from work, which is a huge improvement and will drastically improve business productivity and profits.

Obviously a four day week will not work for all industries or businesses but it’s definitely an interesting topic and something business leaders can no longer ignore.