The positive impact of the four-day working week on workers’ mental health, physical health, productivity, unemployment rates, underemployment rates, staff turnover, the environment, the economy and company revenue now verges on the point of objective. In the past decade, countless studies and trials across the world have reached the same conclusion: that a four-day work week benefits both businesses and staff. Formally implementing a shorter work week could solve social and economic problems which are effecting financial growth, worker health and personal happiness. And the potential impact of these improvements on a mass-scale could prove even greater than the already substantial benefits we’ve seen in isolated studies.
This week, the largest UK public sector trial of a four-day working week – in South Cambridgeshire District Council – was deemed an overwhelming success. Out of 24 areas, 11 saw improvements in performance and 11 saw little or no change, with only two reporting a worse performance over the 15-month period. Benefits included things like staff turnover dropping by 39 per cent – saving the council £371,500 in a year – a 15 per cent boost in planning application decisions being made on time, and housing and benefits claims being processed substantially quicker. Even the negative results, like rent collection for council housing worsening slightly, could be attributed to external factors like the cost-of-living crisis increasing over the period of the trial. Self-reported scores for employee health, motivation and commitment all improved.
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