According to a LinkedIn survey, the “Sunday scaries” impact 75% of Americans as they head into another long week of work — and they aren’t alone. A test run from 2023 could ease the anxiety brought on by those Sunday scaries. 61 U.K. companies participated in the world’s largest four-day workweek test run in 2023, and the results seem to be sticking in 2024.
“If you give people this incredible incentive of a whole day of your time a week, they are going to work really hard to become more productive,” Simon Ursell, managing director at one of the participating companies, told the BBC in 2023.
That thought drove the U.K.-based four-day week pilot trial. One year later, a look back at the program gives researchers and companies across industries and the world insight into whether it would work long-term.
According to a newly released report by the think tank Autonomy, of the 61 companies that participated, 89% of them have continued the four-day workweek policy and 51% have made it official, permanently switching the workweek from five days to four days.
Shortly after the trial ended in 2023, Ursell told the BBC that while it is great for employees’ work-life balance, it has also been great for productivity, with his staff calling out sick 65% less frequently and no drop in revenue.
“We’ve seen our fatigue come down through the trial so we can prove that our team are happier, less tired and are making more money,” Ursell said.
Twelve months later, Ursell’s findings hold true, according to Professor of Sociology at Boston College Juliet Schor, the author of the Autonomy report.
“Overall results have held and in some cases have even continued to improve,” Schor said in a statement. “Physical and mental health and work-life balance are significantly better than at six months. Burnout and life satisfaction improvements held steady. Job satisfaction and sleep problems nudged down a bit, but the bulk of the original improvement remains.”
Of the staff who participated in the trial, 96% reported their personal life had benefitted from the shortened week and 86% said they were more productive. 82% of companies that took part reported positive effects of the policy, and one-third saw a noticeable uptick in recruiting, with half reporting better staff retention.
Schor and other researchers contend that four-day workweeks can help companies combat high turnover rates — which have been exacerbated by the pandemic — and increase overall efficiency.
Not everyone agrees that a four-day workweek is the answer. According to reporting by The Guardian, the director at the Confederation of British Industries said the policy is not a one-size-fits-all answer and that not all industries can afford such a policy.
In February, the Scottish government implemented its own four-day workweek trial for some of its public services.
