One year after the end of the world’s largest exam, most companies are sticking to a four-day work week

Nearly 90% of companies are still implementing a four-day working week, a year’s worth of updates from the world’s biggest exam show. Catherine Falls Commercial – Fortune

When the world’s largest four-day work week trial concluded a year ago, the results were surprising. Reduced stress and increased job satisfaction for employees, combined with increased revenue for the organization, appears to be providing a new workplace utopia for the pilot’s 2,900 guinea pigs.

Still, there was understandable skepticism that the trial would be temporary, prompting companies to gradually bring employees back to a five-day work week once the extravaganza ended. .

But a year later, the results appear to be good enough to establish itself among employers.

More than 60 companies and almost 3,000 workers adopt a four-day week as part of a huge trial run by academics and research group Autonomy to explore the productivity benefits of compressed working hours. agreed to do so.

As long as companies participate in the 100:80:100 principle, there is flexibility in how the exam is run, allowing staff to earn 100% of their original salary for 80% of their hours, while achieving 100% productivity. % received.

In fact, many companies are eschewing the typical “Friday off” model and experimenting with alternatives such as staggered vacation days and decentralized systems where different departments within the company set individual goals for a four-day week. .

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Initial findings published last year were very promising.

Employee happiness has improved dramatically, with 7 in 10 reporting lower levels of burnout and 39% saying they feel less stressed.

Most employees found it easier to care for their children and had a more fulfilling social life outside of work.

Companies also benefited, with increased revenues and significantly higher retention rates during what was often referred to as the “Great Retirement.”

A year later, this court case appears to have convinced employers that a four-day week can be a long-term solution.

Autonomy found that 89% of companies participating in the trial remained open for four days instead of five, while 51% decided to make the switch permanent.

In the foreword to last year’s report, Autonomy said: “Many factors are intertwined with each other, dispelling skepticism and moving a shorter working week from an abstract but attractive ideal to a plausible realization. “We are moving across the economy to possible alternatives.”

“Importantly, the strong findings at six months are not due to novelty or short-term effects,” said Julia Scholl, a professor at Boston University’s research team. said in response.

“These effects are real and long-lasting.”

obstacles remain

However, while there will never be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to achieving a four-day week across the economy, it still seems like a pipe dream for many organizations.

Marketing and advertising employees make up nearly a third of Autonomy’s test group, with other departments related to performance-related goals such as entertainment and finance also making up a large proportion.

Arguing that in industries such as manufacturing and construction that rely on unit-based output and depend on running machines, it is difficult to reduce labor hours without significantly reducing output. is common.

In these two sectors combined, only 11% of employees participated in the Autonomy trial.

Even in sectors that may have been considered successful in adapting to a four-day week, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

Telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom last week announced the results of a four-day test of 300 Hungarian employees.

An 18-month pilot that began in June 2022 had some initial benefits, but we found that the benefits wore off over time and ultimately made us less efficient at work.

“Given the results, we will continue to work according to our traditional work schedule, but we will now develop new solutions to support work-life balance and co-worker satisfaction,” Tibor Lekasi, CEO of Magyar Telekom, said in a statement. I’ll explore it.”