A total of 18 UK companies, including those engaged in education, information technology and finance, announced the intention to introduce a four-day working week permanently based on the results of last year's experiment, Report informs via The Financial Times.
38 more firms decided to continue working on such a schedule. In total, 61 companies participated in the pilot project of a shortened working week, which started in the middle of last year.
The revenue of these companies for the second half of 2022, according to the publication, on average increased by more than a third. The number of layoffs has significantly decreased, the number of those who worked hard has decreased. 40% of employees said they experience less stress.
Companies have implemented a shortened working week in different ways. So, some declared Friday a day off, while others allowed employees to work 80% of their working hours on a flexible schedule.
The experiment was initiated by Oxford and Cambridge Universities, Boston College, activists from the 4-Day Week Global group and the Autonomy analytical center.