The debate around a shorter workweek just won a point in favor of its adoption. The UK’s 4-day workweek pilot has been a huge success, with 100% of the participating businesses electing to continue with the system even after the end of the trial. The pilot included 17 British businesses with between 5 and 400 employees, and after the November 2024 trial came to an end this April, all of the participants decided to continue with a 4-day setup or work 9 days a fortnight.
The impact of the 4-day workweek was felt in terms of productivity and burnout, with employers and employees both seeing benefits from the alternate system. Is the 4-day workweek sustainable? That’s one of the biggest questions when it comes to this particular system. Most naysayers believe the change is both impractical and unsustainable and will hurt the business in the long run, even if workers enjoy the additional day off. Trials testing the theory say otherwise.
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UK’s 4-Day Workweek Pilot Is a Success—Businesses See the Benefits of a Shorter Week
The pilot for the UK’s experiment with a 4-day workweek was run by the 4 Day Week Foundation, an organization that has been championing the cause since 2019. The foundation has a mission to change how we work and has dedicated itself to showing businesses the benefits of the switch through real-world implementation. The latest trial with 17 UK businesses saw a 100% adoption rate after all the participants found the system effective.
According to researchers at Boston College who broke down the results of the 4-day workweek trial, employees of the participating businesses only had positive feedback to give to the study. Around 62% of the workers reported less burnout, and 45% were “more satisfied with life.” Organizations are rethinking efficiency and performance in light of their experience in the study, with many finding that their business results and output did not suffer because of the change.
This isn’t the first time a 4-day workweek trial in the UK has seen successful results. A previous pilot program resulted in 200 companies with a total of over 5,000 workers starting in 2025 with a shorter workweek. The foundation behind these studies reveres a 32-hour or less 4-day workweek with no loss of employee pay as the “gold standard,” and a 35-hour or less 4-day workweek as the “silver standard” of work. Most employees agree with this assessment, but many businesses are still reluctant to try it for themselves.
Should You Give the 4-Day Workweek a Shot?
Most businesses hesitate to give the 4-day workweek a chance because less work does not sound like the path to success. Companies remain adamant that with a shorter week of work, less will get done, and this will eventually hurt their profit margins. Some businesses that may be open to a 4-day workweek believe it’s only fair to bring down employee pay as well, which does not sit well with workers, as this will not reduce their stress but only serve to increase it.
From better mental and physical health to an improved work-life balance, there are many benefits to a 4-day workweek that cannot be ignored. There is also some truth to employer concerns regarding the matter. A sudden shift to a 4-day workweek could destabilize an organization and affect the quality of work, as many employees could have less time to manage the burdens of their work. This is why planning and foresight are essential for those contemplating the change.
A 4-Day Workweek Can Be Sustainable If Employed Correctly
With an unplanned change, a 4-day week could never be sustainable, which makes early preparation a crucial part of enforcing such a change. The implementation of such an unfamiliar system of work will require the entire workforce to prepare a new approach to their tasks, which comes with the added benefit of optimizing the existing system with a new perspective.
Workers will have to adjust their schedules, managers will have to redistribute workloads, and employers will have to explore their relationships with customers and clients to ensure the additional day away from their desks will not disturb their relationship with each other. There is a lot of work to be done before an organization tests out a shortened workweek, but the rewards can be worth the effort.
Many organizations have adopted a 4-day workweek, and they stand as proof that such a work model is indeed sustainable if done right. The decision to try something new now lies in the hands of employers.
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