The UK has shown the first results of the four-day working week trial

Work less, get more benefits.

A test of Britain’s four-day working week, described as the largest in the world, found that an overwhelming majority of 61 companies who participated from June to December last will continue with the shorter hours and that most employees were less stressed and had a better work-life balance.

All this while the company’s revenue remained about the same during last year’s test period and even increased compared to the same six months of the previous year, according to the published results. this week.

“We’re really encouraged by the results, which show the many ways companies are turning the four-day week from a dream into a workable policy., with multiple benefits,” said David Frayne, a research associate at the University of Cambridge who helped lead the team that conducted the employee interviews for the trial. “We think there’s a lot here that should motivate other companies and industries to try.”

The university team worked with researchers from Boston College; Autonomy, a research organization focused on the future of work and the nonprofit community 4 day global weekto see how companies in industries ranging from marketing to finance to nonprofits and their 2,900 employees would respond to reduced work hours while maintaining the same pay.

Researchers worked with each participating organization to measure the impact on the company’s productivity and the well-being of its workersas well as the impact on environment and gender equality.

Unsurprisingly, employees reported benefits, with 71% less burnout, 39% less stress, and 48% more job satisfaction than before the trial.

Among workers, 60% said it was easier to balance work and home responsibilities, while 73% said they were more satisfied with their lives. According to the results, fatigue had decreased, people slept more and mental health had improved.

Juliet Schor, a Boston College sociology professor and senior change researcher, described it as a “historical essay”. “We will examine how employees react to an extra day off, in terms of stress and burnout, job and personal satisfaction, health, sleep, energy consumption, travel and many other aspects of the life”, said The Guardian.

“The four-day week is generally seen as a triple dividend policy: helping employees, businesses and climate change. Our investigative efforts will dig deeper into all of this,” he added.

With information from AP

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