Participants and researchers in the world’s largest 4-day weekly work trial in the UK reported great success. Nearly all 61 companies will continue with the new model, and most of the 2,900 employees can’t even imagine returning to a Monday-Friday schedule. The researchers presented the findings to members of the British Parliament yesterday. We have collected the most important lessons.
According to the initial concept, a four-day work week is a good deal not only for employees, but also for employers. Reducing working hours can increase productivity, increase company profits, and improve employee well-being. It can help reduce carbon emissions, improve gender equality in the workplace, tackle unemployment and improve work-life balance. The concept has been tested in several places in recent years – for example, promising company trials have taken place in Iceland, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. In Hungary, Libri-Bookline was the leader among smaller companies, and Magyar Telekom among large ones.
Participants are mainly small companies, two-thirds of the employees are women
The British experiment was organized through a campaign 4 days a week between June and December last year. About 2,900 employees of 61 companies from a wide variety of industries took part in it: from fish shops to e-commerce to marketing consulting firms. Small businesses mainly participated: two-thirds of employers had fewer than 25 employees. 62 percent of the employees were women, two-thirds had a degree, 63 percent were older than 35, and 72 percent were married or in a cohabiting relationship. Employer Motivation: To be at the forefront of this pioneering initiative. If done well, it can provide a competitive advantage and improve talent acquisition and retention.
The start was preceded by a two-month preparation period, when consultants, coaches and mentors prepared the companies and their employees for the experiment. Regulators gave companies maximum flexibility in how they implemented the reduction in working hours: Fridays did not have to be abandoned. There have been companies where half the team shut down on Monday and the other off on Friday, in other places managements decided what was best for them, and there were employers who set an average work time of 32 hours per week. The main thing is that the salary should not change and the employees will have time off due to the full-time job, as well as fringe benefits. Researchers from Cambridge University, Boston College and the Independence Research Complex followed participants’ performance and the opinions of employers and employees for six months: companies provided data, researchers interviewed managers before and after the project, and conducted an online survey among employees.
57 percent of companies cut hours by cutting Friday or Monday (first two columns from the left)
How did companies react on Friday? There was a consulting firm that strongly advocated no work that day. He changed the work contract for the duration of the project, and even during the preparation period, he made sure that the Friday work holiday was feasible. There were employers where Friday was protected, but not as strongly. In other words, you didn’t have to work, but if “the house is on fire, you have to be available and jump in.” And there were some companies (the minority) that were “weakly protected” Friday, because it is difficult to plan the workload.
Here are the 12 most important lessons
1. Almost all companies participating in the experiment (92 percent) decided to continue working four days a week.
2. Participants rated the project an average of 9.04 points from 0 (very bad) to 10 (very good).
3. Employees were on less sick leave: The number of days they went without work due to illness decreased by 65 percent.
4. 57 percent of people quit less often than before the experiment, and their turnover rate decreased.
5. Improve work-life balance. Employees were able to juggle work and family commitments more easily. 62 percent had more time for their social relationships and were more satisfied with their quality. (According to the employees’ answers, they worked 4 hours less per week, and overtime decreased by a third).
6. 71 percent of employees said that, compared to the start of the trial, they felt few or no symptoms of burnout, while 39 percent felt less stress.
7. Corporate revenues remained unchanged or increased slightly (increased by 1.4 percent).
8. More than half of the participants found it easier to reconcile work and domestic (domestic) tasks. (However, the assumption that men do more housework in the house, although they spend more time on raising children, is not confirmed.)
9. One-fifth of workers say their childcare costs have fallen.
10. More than half of employees say they travel more in their spare time.
11. Anxiety, fatigue and sleep problems decreased significantly and mental and physical health improved.
12. Seventy percent of respondents indicated that they would need a pay increase of between 10 and 50 percent to return to a full five-day work schedule, while 15 percent said they did not have the money to return to a “traditional” Monday-to-Friday routine.
15 percent (right column) would not return to a traditional Monday-Friday work schedule for any money. Only 29% approve of a pay increase ranging from 26-50% (middle column).
The researchers and other participants presented the findings to MPs in the House of Commons of the British Parliament on Tuesday. It also means that the island nation’s four-day work week is one step closer to being a realistic option for other employers as well.
Joe Rale, director of the 4 Days a Week Campaign, commented on the findings: “In the most diverse sectors of the economy, these startling results show that the four-day work week works for full pay.” “It is definitely time to move this across the country,” he added.
summary
In any case, we will not consider the British experience as a milestone, a general breakthrough. This is an exam taken in the small business environment, where the vast majority of graduates, and the role of independent individual work is important. And from the employee questionnaire, it can be seen that the real weekly working time reduction was 4 hours instead of 8 hours. Of course, regardless of this, the results are significant and the 61 pilot projects clearly show that if company management sticks to the four-day work schedule, then results can be shown. It is also evident from the numbers that employees appreciate this and when they work, they “give themselves more” in the workplace. Another important message is that there is no one solution, different models work in every workplace.
Anyone interested in the detailed 69-page study, You can download it from here.
