More than 3,300 workers in 70 companies in the UK, ranging from local chips to large financial companies, start working four days a week on Monday without pay in the world’s biggest test of the new job model.
The pilot project lasts six months and is organized by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the Autonomy think tank, the 4 Day Week campaign and researchers from the University of Cambridge, Oxford University and Boston College.
The trial period is based on the 100: 80: 100 model – 100% pay for 80% of the time in exchange for a commitment to maintain 100% productivity.
Platten’s Fish and Chips in Wells-next-the-Sea on the North Coast of Norfolk is involved with software company Sheffield Rivelin Robotics, London-based heritage tax specialists Stellar Asset Management and Charity Bank in Tonbridge, Kent.
Joe O’Connor, CEO of the non-profit group 4 Day Week Global, said the UK was at the peak of a four-day week: “As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognizing the new frontier of competition. is the quality of life and this results-oriented work focused on results is the means that gives them a competitive advantage. “
Some of the other participating companies provide education, workplace advice, housing, skin care, recruitment services in construction and construction, food and beverage, and digital marketing.
Researchers will work with each participating organization to measure the impact on business productivity and the well-being of its employees, as well as the impact on the environment and gender equality.
Wyatt Watts, team leader at Platten’s Fish and Chips, said morale had already improved on his team after the business joined the process. He hopes that the extra rest time will increase his energy levels and productivity. Photo: Distribution
The government-backed four-day trial is also set to begin later this year in Spain and Scotland.
Juliet Shore, a professor of sociology at Boston College and a leading researcher on the pilot, described it as a “historic process.” “We will analyze how employees react to an extra day off in terms of stress and burnout, job and life satisfaction, health, sleep, energy use, travel and many other aspects of life,” she said.
“The four-day week is usually considered a triple-dividend policy – helping employees, companies and the climate. Our research efforts will be deepened in all this. “
Whit Watts, 25, team leader at Platten’s Fish and Chips, said: “When I first heard we were going to work fewer hours for the same pay, I thought, ‘What’s the catch?’ I’m usually so exhausted from work. that I don’t have energy, so I hope that this extra rest time will increase my energy levels. “
He said the decision to join the pilot already had an impact. “Morality has improved and we hope that our productivity will be higher.”
Ed Siegel, CEO of Charity Bank, said he was proud to be one of the first banks in the UK to embrace the four-day week. “We have long been a champion of flexible working, but the pandemic has really moved the pillars in this regard. For Charity Bank, moving to a four-day week seems a natural next step.
“The 20th century concept of a five-day work week is no longer the most appropriate for 21st century businesses. We firmly believe that a four-day week without a change in salary or benefits will create a happier workforce and have an equally positive impact on business productivity, customer experience and our social mission.
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