More than 3,000 workers at 60 UK companies and organisations have signed up to the the four-day week in what is believed to be the world's biggest ever trial.
The pilot will run for six months beginning in June and is being organised by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with leading think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College.
Participating organisations will trial 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.
On the UK pilot, employees will be getting a paid day off weekly through the course of the trial and it is hoped that businesses will be able to use it as a way to retain staff and recruit new talent.
The Royal Society of Biology is among those taken part in the trial.
Dr Mark Downs, Chief Executive said the pandemic has shown that long standing working practices can change rapidly, including the reliance on physical office space.
He said: “The four-day week pilot is a fantastic opportunity to challenge another long standing truism - that to deliver quality you must work long hours.
“RSB believes joining the vanguard of a four-day working week movement will position us as a leading employer, allow us to retain and attract the best staff and to continue to deliver impact and value. It will be another important string in the bow of flexible working leading to greater diversity of thought and people.”
From a local chippy to large corporates, companies in the UK pilot provide products and services ranging from education to workplace consultancy; banking; financial services; IT software training; professional development and legal training; housing; automotive supply services; online retail; sustainable homecare; skincare; telco; animation studios; building and construction recruitment services; food and beverage and hospitality; digital marketing; and comprehensive case management services for people recovering from traumatic injury.
READ MORE: Here is a list of some of the companies taking part in the trial
Researchers will work with each participating organisation to measure the impact on productivity in the business and the wellbeing of its workers, as well as the impact on the environment and gender equality.
Joe O Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, said: “Increasingly, managers and executives are embracing a new model of work which focuses on quality of outputs, not quantity of hours. Workers have emerged from the pandemic with different expectations around what constitutes a healthy life/work balance.
“Sometimes it takes a big disruptor to dislodge deeply embedded societal and cultural norms. That's what we are seeing with the traditional five-day working week following the covid-induced flexible working revolution. Those who think we will turn the clock back to the way things were two years ago are engaged in 'pie in the sky' thinking - the four day week is an idea whose time has come.”
