Most workers and businesses in the poll said there's no turning back to the four-day workweek

According to a British survey, companies and employees agree that the four-day workweek is here to stay.

Employee enthusiasm and morale increased, and productivity followed. Revenue also increased when compared to the same time last year.

A six-month research last year included 61 U.K. Organizations that made a 20% reduction in employee work hours without a salary cut.

Juliet Schor, a professor at Boston College and one of the study directors, said the trial “was a wonderful success.” “Our employee well-being outcomes are outstanding across the board.”

Throughout the six-month trial, she and colleagues at Cambridge University in England interviewed CEOs and staff members.

According to Schor, they reported lower stress, burnout, and weariness levels as well as increased physical and mental health, life satisfaction, activity levels, and sleep.

Of the 2,900 employees who participated in the research, 71% reported decreased levels of burnout, and 39% reported lower stress levels. In addition, compared to the same time last year, 65% fewer sick days were taken and 57% fewer turnovers.

The sked was discovered to be advantageous for businesses as well.

According to the authors, “Business income hardly changed during the trial period, even modestly growing by 1.4% on average for the 23 organizations able to submit data.”

For around two dozen businesses, revenue increased as compared to the same time last year.

According to Schor, it has been a big success on both the corporate and employee sides.

More than 90% of the businesses said they would continue the experiment, and 30% would change it into official policy.

These include businesses in the housing, skin-care, recruitment, hospitality, marketing, health care, and housing industries, online merchants, financial service providers, animation studios, and a nearby fish and chip store.

The outcomes matched those of studies conducted in 2022 in the United States and Canada, but the authors said that their research went deeper because it was the first to incorporate in-depth interviews.

In addition to Boston and Cambridge, the researchers collaborated with the 4 Day Week Global organization, which has overseen such pilot experiments with 91 enterprises and 3,500 employees. Autonomy is a think tank that focuses on the future of work.

The deal’s structure could be altered greatly by the companies. Several employers offered three-day weekends, while others staggered their employees’ workdays.

One restaurant averaged the workload over a year, with seasonally mild and heavy months. Others continued the program as long as the performance goals were reached.

David Frayne, a research associate at the University of Cambridge, said, “We felt particularly pleased by the results, which highlighted the many ways enterprises were turning the four-day week from a dream into a feasible policy, with multiple benefits.”