The four-day work week is here to stay at UK companies that tried it

By Olesya Dmitracova, CNN

Updated 9:47 AM EST, Thu February 22, 2024

Commuters cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour on January 31, 2023, in London.

LondonCNN —

One year after the conclusion of the world’s biggest trial of a four-day work week, a large majority of companies that took part were still allowing their employees to work a shorter week and more than half had made the change permanent.

For six months between June and December 2022, workers at 61 organizations in the United Kingdom worked 80% of their usual hours — for the same pay — in exchange for promising to deliver 100% of their usual work.

At least 89% of those firms were still operating the policy and at least 51% had made the four-day week permanent at the end of 2023, according to a report published by one of the organizers of the trial.

The study was released Wednesday by Autonomy, a think tank that ran the 2022 trial with nonprofit 4 Day Week Global and the 4 Day Week UK Campaign in partnership with researchers from Cambridge and Oxford universities, and Boston College.

The effects of reduced working hours have been overwhelmingly beneficial for staff and their companies, according to the report.

At the end of the trial, employees reported enjoying better physical and mental health, greater work-life balance and general life satisfaction, and less exhaustion from work — and these improvements have been maintained one year on.

“The key point is that the strong findings at six months are not due to novelty or short-term impacts. These effects are real and long-lasting,” said Juliet Schor, professor of sociology at Boston College, which surveyed staff at the companies that participated in the trial.

Managers and CEOs at 28 of the organizations also agreed to answer additional questions. All said the four-day week had a positive impact on their company. Staff turnover fell at half of the organizations, almost a third said the policy had noticeably improved recruitment, and 82% reported beneficial effects on staff well-being.

The Autonomy report also highlights the methods organizations have used to sustain a four-day week, including revising the norms around meetings, work communications and prioritization.

“In this study, it has been clear the four-day week is not just a flash in the pan: companies around the UK have successfully been ‘making it stick’,” the authors wrote.

Close to half of the 61 organizations that took part in the 2022 trial are in marketing and advertising, professional services, and the nonprofit sector. The remainder span a range of industries, including construction, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and arts and entertainment.

Calls to shorten the working week have multiplied in recent years. These calls have grown louder after millions of employees switched to remote work during the pandemic and stopped commuting, saving time and money.

There have been a number of experiments with the four-day week around the world, including a trial in 2022 across 33 companies, with the majority of workers based in the United States and Ireland.

The four-day work week is here to stay at UK companies that tried it

每周四天的工作制在尝试过的英国公司中延续

One year after the conclusion of the world’s biggest trial of a four-day work week, a large majority of companies that took part were still allowing their employees to work a shorter week and more than half had made the change permanent.

全球最大的一周四天工作制试验结束一年后，大多数参与试验的公司仍然允许员工减少他们每周的工作时间，超过一半的公司已经将这一改变永久化。

For six months between June and December 2022, workers at 61 organizations in the United Kingdom worked 80% of their usual hours — for the same pay — in exchange for promising to deliver 100% of their usual work.

在2022年6月至12月的六个月里，英国61家公司的员工只工作正常工作时间的80%，但工资不变，只要承诺100%完成他们正常的工作。

At least 89% of those firms were still operating the policy and at least 51% had made the four-day week permanent at the end of 2023, according to a report published by one of the organizers of the trial.

根据试验一组织者发布的一份报告，在2023年底，至少89%的公司仍在执行该政策，至少51%的公司将每周四天的工作制永久化。

The study was released Wednesday by Autonomy, a think tank that ran the 2022 trial with nonprofit 4 Day Week Global and the 4 Day Week UK Campaign in partnership with researchers from Cambridge and Oxford universities, and Boston College.

这项研究于周三由智库Autonomy发布，Autonomy与非营利组织“4 Day Week Global”和“4 Day Week UK Campaign”合作，与剑桥大学、牛津大学和波士顿学院的研究人员进行了2022年的这一试验。

The effects of reduced working hours have been overwhelmingly beneficial for staff and their companies, according to the report.

该报告称，工作时间的减少对员工及公司来说是极其有益的。

At the end of the trial, employees reported enjoying better physical and mental health, greater work-life balance and general life satisfaction, and less exhaustion from work — and these improvements have been maintained one year on.

试验结束时，员工们称他们的身心健康状况更好，工作与生活更平衡，总体生活满意度更高，工作疲惫感更低，这些改善已经持续了一年。

“The key point is that the strong findings at six months are not due to novelty or short-term impacts. These effects are real and long-lasting,” said Juliet Schor, professor of sociology at Boston College, which surveyed staff at the companies that participated in the trial.

调查了参与试验公司员工的波士顿学院的社会学教授Juliet Schor说：“关键是，六个月的这一强有力发现并不是因为新颖或短期影响，这些影响是真实而持久的”。

Managers and CEOs at 28 of the organizations also agreed to answer additional questions. All said the four-day week had a positive impact on their company. Staff turnover fell at half of the organizations, almost a third said the policy had noticeably improved recruitment, and 82% reported beneficial effects on staff well-being.

其中28家公司的经理和首席执行官也回答了其他问题。他们都表示，每周四天工作制对公司产生了积极影响。有一半公司的员工离职率下降了，近三分之一的公司表示该政策显著改善了招聘，82%的公司表示对员工幸福感有好处。

The Autonomy report also highlights the methods organizations have used to sustain a four-day week, including revising the norms around meetings, work communications and prioritization.

Autonomy报告也强调了各公司维持每周四天工作制的方法，包括修改会议、工作沟通和优先级的规范。

“In this study, it has been clear the four-day week is not just a flash in the pan: companies around the UK have successfully been ‘making it stick’,” the authors wrote.

“在这项研究中，很明显，一周工四天作制不仅仅是昙花一现：英国的这些公司都成功地‘坚持了下来’”，该作者写道。

Close to half of the 61 organizations that took part in the 2022 trial are in marketing and advertising, professional services, and the nonprofit sector. The remainder span a range of industries, including construction, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and arts and entertainment.

在参加2022年试验的61家公司中，近一半从事营销和广告、专业服务和非营利部门。其余的涉及一系列行业，包括建筑、制造、零售、医疗保健以及艺术和娱乐。

Calls to shorten the working week have multiplied in recent years. These calls have grown louder after millions of employees switched to remote work during the pandemic and stopped commuting, saving time and money.

近年来，要求缩短每周工作时间的呼声成倍增加。在疫情期间，大量员工转向远程工作，不需要通勤，节省了时间和金钱后，这些呼声越来越高。

There have been a number of experiments with the four-day week around the world, including a trial in 2022 across 33 companies, with the majority of workers based in the United States and Ireland.

世界各地已经对每周四天工作制进行了许多实验，包括2022年33家公司参与的一项试验，其中大多数员工在美国和爱尔兰。