Four-day workweek trial reviewed in the UK

Having experimented with the four-day workweek, some firms in the UK are reporting benefits such as higher productivity and less staff turnover, although challenges remain to make this a permanent work arrangement.

In June, some 3,300 employees in 70 British firms participated in a four-day workweek trial with no loss to their pay. 

“Team morale seems to be stronger, our revenue has grown and we work less,” commented Paul David Perry, co-founder and chief executive of content and digital marketing agency Literal Humans, which participated in the trial. 

At Leeds-based digital marketing agency Trio Media, the firm found that the arrangement increased work performance even with less hours worked. 

“In our second month of the trial, we had our best ever month on record, performing 44% better than our next ever highest month, even with people working 20% less,” shared chief executive Claire Daniels, according to The Drum.

READ: Restructuring of work calls for a personalised approach  

However, some teams met with snags in a four-day workweek setting, including media agency Adzooma, which  highlighted that it faced issues with collaboration. “We do require some team members to work Tuesday to Friday. This has on occasion meant the right people haven’t been around to answer questions when needed,” said HR manager Jennifer Lecomber-Peace.

“However, this is a hiccup that we are able to address by having greater planning around which skill sets need to be in the business and when,” she explained.