The results of one of the UK’s largest four-day working week trials have been revealed this week, with almost every company who took part deciding to continue with the shorter working pattern, with no loss of pay for workers.

While the results of the six-month pilot were overwhelmingly positive – for instance, the report highlights reduced stress and burnout among employees, improved mental and physical health, a reduction in sick days and maintained business performance and productivity –  arguably, given the prolonged period of time we work for, from leaving education to retirement age for most, a six-month trial is still not long enough to truly measure the impact a shorter working week will have.

Businesses may be able to sustain it for 12 months but not for five or ten years, and, on the flip side, the positive impact that improved employee wellbeing can have will be best seen when you can compare staff absence, sickness rates and burnout over years. Therefore, results must be taken with a degree of caution and they may not be sufficient enough for us to see a seismic shift to a four-day week by businesses.

There’s no doubt that there are benefits to a shorter week with full pay for employees and it can really help businesses with staff retention and recruitment. For some businesses it could be a no-brainer. For others it could be a headache.

The practicalities of adopting a shorter working week

There are many practicalities for a business to consider. From what day people won’t work, what happens with part-time workers who already work a short week, how you calculate holiday pay entitlement and an abundance of contractual changes which must be made with employee buy-in. Businesses can’t simply change a persons’ contractual terms unilaterally. 

For those businesses that do see this report and are considering implementing a short week as a result, then we would advise that you trial the short week first and that the execution of the trial must be well-advised. It must be clear that it is a trial that may not be implemented permanently and contractual agreements or proof of employee agreement to this may be required so you can revert back to a five-day week should you wish to.

Alternatively, many of the benefits of the four-day week such as increased productivity, improved employee wellbeing, better work life balance and even a reduced carbon footprint can be found in offering a good flexible working policy for employees. This may be a positive move for the majority of businesses.