Work · Reading practice · B2
Four days a week: what happened when companies tried it
Work less, earn the same and get just as much done? A large trial in the UK put the idea to the test.
By Levoop · 4-minute read · 392 words · Tap the underlined words to see what they mean
For more than a century, the five-day working week has been the standard in most of the world. But what would happen if we worked four days instead – and were paid exactly the same? For many people, it sounds too good to be true. In 2022, a group of companies in the United Kingdom decided to find out.
Around 60 organisations, from small design studios to restaurants and banks, took part in a six-month with nearly 3,000 employees. The rule was simple: would work 80 per cent of their usual hours, keep 100 per cent of their pay and, in return, try to 100 per cent of their . Researchers measured the results by asking both the employees and the managers.
The results surprised even some of the organisers. Most companies reported that productivity stayed about the same, and in some cases it actually went up. Employees said they felt less stressed and slept better, and many fewer people left their jobs during the trial than in the same period the year before. When the six months were over, more than 90 per cent of the companies decided to continue with the four-day week, and some made it .
How was this possible? Many teams found that they had been wasting time without realising it. They cut meetings shorter, reduced and on the tasks that really mattered. With an extra day off, people also came back to work on Monday with more energy.
Not everyone is convinced, however. Critics point out that the companies in the trial chose to take part, so they were probably more about the idea than a typical business would be. A four-day week is also much harder to organise in jobs where someone has to be present all the time, such as hospitals, schools or shops. In these cases, companies may need more staff, which costs money.
Other countries, including Spain, Iceland and Belgium, have run their own trials or introduced new rules that give workers more . The results have generally been positive, but experts warn that there is no single model that works for every company.
What the experiments do show is that the number of hours we spend at work is not the only thing that matters. How we use those hours may be just as important.
Reading the News · levoop.com/reading-the-news/four-day-week · More articles and Cambridge exam practice at www.levoop.com
