Agencies | London The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com A nationwide trial of a four-day working week began in the UK on Monday. It involves 70 companies and over 3,300 workers, making it the largest pilot of its kind in the world. A four-day working week does not invol
Agencies | London
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
A nationwide trial of a four-day working week began in the UK on Monday.
It involves 70 companies and over 3,300 workers, making it the largest pilot of its kind in the world.
A four-day working week does not involve a loss of pay for employees, who will be asked to maintain 100% productivity while working 80% of their hours.
The trial will measure worker well-being and business productivity, as well as impacts on the environment and gender equality.
The pilot is being run by non-profit group 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK national campaign, and researchers from Cambridge and Oxford universities and Boston College.
Joe O’Connor, chief executive of 4 Day Week Global, said the UK is “at the crest of a wave of global momentum behind the four-day week.”
“As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognizing that the new frontier for competition is quality of life, and that reduced-hour, output-focused working is the vehicle to give them a competitive edge,” he said.
“The impact of the ‘great resignation’ is now proving that workers from a diverse range of industries can produce better outcomes while working shorter and smarter.”
Scotland will undergo a similar trial later this year, while other European countries such as Belgium, Iceland and Sweden, as well as Japan and the UAE, have also tested shorter workweek models.
