The Sustainable Success of the Four-Day Workweek: A Lasting Gift to Employee Well-being and Company Efficiency

The concept of a four-day workweek has proven to be a transformative and enduring strategy for companies, yielding happier employees, lower turnover rates, and increased efficiency. Recent data from a trial in the United Kingdom conducted in 2022 reveal that the positive effects of this approach are not only immediate but also have a lasting impact. In this trial, 61 companies transitioned their workforce to a four-day workweek without any reduction in pay. Initially designed as a six-month experiment, the results indicate that 54 of these companies have maintained the policy, with over half declaring it as a permanent shift, according to researchers affiliated with the think tank Autonomy, who collaborated with the 4-Day Week Campaign and 4 Day Week Global.

The enduring success of the four-day workweek is substantiated by follow-up surveys that shed light on various aspects contributing to its effectiveness. Juliet Schor, a sociologist from Boston College and part of the research team, notes that improvements in physical and mental health, work-life balance, and overall life satisfaction, coupled with reductions in burnout, have persisted over the past year. Importantly, workers express higher job satisfaction compared to the period before the trial commenced.

“The results are really stable. It’s not a novelty effect. People are feeling really on top of their work with this new model,” affirms Schor, emphasizing the sustained positive impact on employee well-being.

Similar affirmative outcomes are emerging from other four-day workweek trials, including those in the United States, indicating a broader trend of success beyond national borders, as noted by Schor.

Participating companies have shared their experiences and insights in a recent webinar, highlighting that the success of the four-day workweek requires deliberate effort rather than relying on magic. Nicci Russell, CEO of the London-based water conservancy non-profit Waterwise, stresses that a smooth transition to a four-day workweek involves identifying and implementing efficiencies. After overcoming initial challenges, Waterwise achieved a system where all 10 employees could enjoy Fridays off. Key strategies included limiting meetings to 30 minutes, starting meetings punctually, scheduling focused work time, and adopting mindful email practices.

“I only do my emails now at certain times of the day. I’m not drawn into them all day, every day,” Russell explains, underlining the importance of intentional communication and time management.

At the conclusion of the pilot, Waterwise employees unanimously expressed a desire to continue the four-day workweek. Many indicated they would only consider returning to a five-day workweek if presented with a substantial pay raise. Russell recognizes the positive impact on employee retention, particularly beneficial for a smaller organization like Waterwise.

A noteworthy finding from these trials is the absence of a one-size-fits-all approach to implementing the four-day workweek. Ruth Llewellyn, leading the pilot at Merthyr Valleys Homes in South Wales, emphasizes that the concept of giving everyone Fridays off wouldn’t have suited their operations. With 240 employees performing diverse roles from customer service to home repairs and maintenance, they opted for flexible schedules tailored to individual and team needs. Various arrangements, such as set days off, rolling schedules, and shorter workdays, were adopted to accommodate the diverse workforce.

Teams at Merthyr Valleys Homes discovered time savings in different areas, such as reducing travel time and addressing customer issues promptly over the phone. Llewellyn reports increased motivation among employees, consistent performance, and a reduction in sick leave absences. While the company has not committed to a permanent four-day workweek, it has extended the pilot, aiming to gather more data and evaluate the results later in the spring.

The trial in the U.K. experienced minimal discontinuations of the four-day workweek, with only a few companies opting out. Feedback from one small consultancy suggested that despite improved morale and increased efficiency, challenges arose in managing client and stakeholder expectations. Researchers propose that enhanced external communication and greater flexibility in adapting the policy to challenging conditions could have made a difference.

“There is a suggestion that the organization did not give the policy enough of a chance, and indications of a change of heart on the issue from management,” the researchers wrote, underscoring the importance of commitment and effective communication in the successful implementation of the four-day workweek.

The four-day workweek has emerged as a sustainable and beneficial strategy for companies, fostering employee well-being and operational efficiency. The positive outcomes seen in the U.K. trial, as well as in other global experiments, underscore the potential for this model to become a standard practice. As companies continue to refine their approaches and gather more data, the four-day workweek may very well become a lasting gift that reshapes the landscape of work culture for the better.