The UK is hosting the biggest global experiment and every person’s eyes will remain on the outcomes of this experiment.
Nonprofit, 4 Day Week Global, in conjunction with a collection of think tanks, campaign groups, and academics has started a six-month pilot which will remain in effect till December 2022.This four-day workweek trial in the UK marks the World’s biggest 4 day work week trial as more than 70 companies and 3,300 employees are participating. These employees will get100% of their regular paychecks in exchange for just 80% of their usual working time.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognizing that the new frontier for competition is quality of life, and that reduced-hour, output-focused working is the vehicle to give them a competitive edge,” said Joe O’Connor, chief executive of 4 Day Week Global.
The trial which started on Monday (June 6) works on an 80-100-100 model of working where there will be a drop in hours to 80% of their standard work week, 100% pay and 100% productivity.
Researchers from Oxford University, Cambridge University, and Boston College are involved in interviewing the workers and measuring the success of this trial to check the sociological impact of affording a long weekend for the employees.
“The four-day week is generally considered to be a triple dividend policy—helping employees, companies, and the climate,” said Juliet Schor, professor of sociology at Boston College and lead researcher in this four-day work week trial.
Similar experiments have been conducted earlier also. The previous largest experiment was conducted in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, and involved over 2,500 public sector workers. The trial was found to be an overwhelming success.
The companies like Unilever, Panasonic and Microsoft had also trialed four-day work week during the pandemic. Microsoft noted a 40% surge in productivity.
More than 150 companies and 7,000 employees across the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand have signed up to participate in these trials of four-day work week as part of the 2022 programme.
