UK Launches 4-Day Work Week Experiment for 70 Companies
More than 70 workers from companies in the UK will begin experimenting with the world’s largest four-day workweek.
On the 6th, the British Guardian will start working four days a week without losing wages for more than 3,300 workers at 70 companies. It will be implemented for six months in large financial companies and hospitals. The experiment was organized by think tank Autonomi and researchers from Cambridge, Oxford and Boston University, a non-profit organization called “Four-day-a-week Global.”
Based on the so-called “100 to 80 to 100” model, it will check whether it is possible to work for 80% of the time while maintaining 100% productivity and pay 100% wages.
Joe O’Connor, CEO of Global, a four-day week, said, “As we move away from the pandemic, more and more companies recognize new horizons of competition as quality of life,” adding, “Time reduction and production-oriented labor are driving competition.”
Researchers will work with each participating institution to measure the impact on corporate productivity and employee welfare, environment, and gender equality.
Wyatt Watts, the team leader of Platons Fish and Chips, who participated in the experiment, said, “When I first heard that we would work less hours at the same wage, I thought to myself, ‘What’s the trap?’ Usually, I was so exhausted from work that I had no energy. So I hope that having more breaks can improve my energy level,” he said.
Charity Bank CEO Ed Segal said he was proud to be one of the first banks to introduce a four-day week in the UK, adding, “We have long aimed for flexible labor, but the pandemic has made us move toward this goal.”
CEO Segal said, “The 20th-century concept of a five-day week is no longer a suitable concept for the 21st century,” adding, “We are confident that a four-day workweek without changes in salary or benefits will create a happier workforce and have an equally positive impact on corporate productivity, customer experience and social mission.”
Later this year, a four-day week trial will also begin in Spain and Scotland．