Almost nine in 10 organisations trialling a four-day week with no loss of pay are likely to continue with a shorter working week beyond the six-month pilot.
A survey of the 73 organisations taking part in the UK trial of a four-day working week, which range from a fish and chip shop to larger IT and retail companies, found 88% felt a shorter week had worked well and 86% were likely to adopt the policy after the trial had ended.
The pilot sees workers recieve 100% of their pay for working 80% of their usual hours.
It is led by the 4 Day Week campaign, and is being monitored by the think tank Autonomy and academics from Oxford and Cambridge Universities and Boston College in the US. It is set to conclude in December.
Joe O’Connor, chief executive of 4 Day Week Global, told The Times that although many organisations have had a positive experience so far, some had experienced challenges.
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He said: “We are learning that for many it is a fairly smooth transition and for some there are some understandable hurdles, especially among those that have comparatively fixed or inflexible practices, systems or cultures dating back well into the last century.”
On a scale of one to five indicating how smooth the shift had been, with one representing “extremely smooth”, 78% respondents rated the move to a shorter week either one or two.
Productivity had been maintained at 46% of organisations; 34% reported a slight improvement and 15% saw a significant productivity boost.
Autonomy, the think tank supporting the trial, claimed a four-day week could save employees thousands of pounds per year in childcare and commuting costs and potentially help alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.
It calculated that an employee with a child under two would save £1,440 in childcare and £340 in commuting costs on average in a year if their working week was cut by one day.
Autonomy’s director of research Will Stronge told the Guardian that the cost-savings to be had on workers’ additional day off could help alleviate cost-of-living concerns. However, any evaluation of the potential financial benefits of a shorter working week would have to take additional spending on leisure activities and heating into consideration.
“The benefits of a four-day week for the wellbeing of workers and boosting productivity are well known, but the impact it could have on the cost of living has so far been overlooked,” he said.
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“A four-day week with no loss of pay could play a crucial role in supporting workers to make ends meet over the next few years.”
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