Is the UK ready to embrace the four-day workweek?

After a successful four-day workweek trial, 100 UK businesses will reportedly be adopting this working arrangement permanently for all their employees, at no loss of pay. 

While the 2,600 employees the 100 companies employ represent a small fraction of the UK’s working population, the 4 Day Week Campaign Group hopes that this will mark a major shift in global workplaces. 

The 4 Day Week Campaign is a group that is advocating to bring all UK workers to a “32-hour working week with no loss of pay, which would benefit workers, employers, the economy, society and the environment.”

Firms that have permanently adopted the four-day workweek include global marketing firm Awin, with about 450 staff in the UK. 

Adopting the four-day workweek was “one of the most transformative initiatives we’ve seen in the history of the company”, remarked Adam Ross, Awin’s chief executive, according to The Guardian. 

“Over the course of the last year and a half, we have not only seen a tremendous increase in employee wellness and wellbeing but concurrently, our customer service and relations, as well as talent relations and retention also have benefited,” he said. 

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To date, most of the companies that have officially adopted the four-day workweek include those in tech, events and marketing. Some firms in the manufacturing and construction industries have also signed up, according to the 4 Day Week Campaign Group.