Three companies have signed on to be part of the UK’s four-day work week pilot study managed by the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Boston College, thinktank Autonomy, and is being overseen by campaign group 4 Day Week Global.
Yo Telecoms will transition its 90 employees to a four-day, 32-hour work week with no decrease in pay for six months starting in June, joining game developer Hutch’s 120 employees and MBL Seminars’ 70 employees.
“I feel the additional day’s rest our team will benefit from will push productivity, increase work satisfaction and improve general wellbeing above and beyond anything we have experienced in the past,” said Nathan Hanslip, CEO of Yo Telecom.
Since news of the trial emerged, more businesses are on the cusp of signing up and could see upwards of 500 workers participating. In fact, Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week UK campaign, said the organizers may increase the number of business participants from 30 to 50.
“In the wake of the Great Resignation, organizations should embrace the four-day week as a way of retaining staff and attracting new talent,” said Ryle.
Other companies have already made the transition to a shorter work week on their own, including hotel Landmark London, which stated it would give chefs one extra day off per week.
Organizations have struggled to attract and retain employees over the last year as a result of this mass job exodus and professionals’ desire for a better quality of work-life balance. This has led leaders to revamp their workplace perks and benefits, including those that focus on flexibility and employee wellbeing.
