The four-day week movement has been given a major boost after findings showed that 86% of firms would be likely to make the move permanent.
The data comes at the halfway point of a ground breaking six-month trial of the four-day working week in the UK.
More than 70 organisations with 3300 employees are currently taking part in the trial that includes all kinds of businesses from recruitment firms, consultancy specialists and a traditional fish and chip shop.
They are trialling a four-day week with no loss of pay for employees, based on the principle of the 100:80:100 model - 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintain at least 100% productivity.
Nicci Russell, Managing Director of London-based water efficiency not-for-profit organisation Waterwise, said the pilot initially involved a learning curve:
"It wasn't a walk in the park at the start but no major change ever is.
"We have all had to work at it - some weeks are easier than others and things like annual leave can make it harder to fit everything in - but we're much more settled with it now overall than we were at the start.
"We certainly all love the extra day out of the office and do come back refreshed. It's been great for our wellbeing and we're definitely more productive already."
A series of questions were posed with a multi-choice answer on a scale of 1 to 5. Of those that responded (41 out of the 70 companies) said:
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88% of respondents stated that the four-day week is working ‘well’ for their business at this stage in the trial;
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46% of respondents say their business productivity has ‘maintained around the same level’, while 34% report that it has ‘improved slightly’, and 15% say it has ‘improved significantly;
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On how smooth the transition to a four-day week has been (with 5 being ‘extremely smooth’ and ‘1’ being ‘extremely challenging’), 29% of respondents selected ‘5’, 49% selected ‘4’ and 20% selected ‘3’;
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86% of respondents stated that at this juncture in the trial, they would be 'likely’ to consider retaining the four-day week policy after the trial period.
The trial is being run by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with leading think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University, Boston College and Oxford University.
Joe O’Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, said: “We are learning that for many it is a fairly smooth transition and for some there are some understandable hurdles – especially among those which have comparatively fixed or inflexible practices, systems, or cultures which date back well into the last century.
“While for most organisations the pilot prompts many pleasing discoveries and outcomes, there is friction for others, and this can be based on a variety of factors, many of which can be addressed or substantially improved in the pilot itself.
"4 Day Week Global and our partners are supporting these businesses to ease their transition to a flexible work model, and using the findings to inform the process for many more businesses to trial, adapt, and reap the benefits of emphasising productivity over time – thereby transforming the world of work for all of us.”
These companies are among those taking part
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