The World's Largest Four-Day Workweek Pilot

[applegrove]

The World’s Largest Four-Day Workweek Pilot

June 7, 2022 at 12:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

https://politicalwire.com/2022/06/07/the-worlds-largest-four-day-workweek-pilot/

"SNIP.....


“Thousands of workers in Britain had another reason to celebrate after returning from a long weekend to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee,” the Washington Post reports.

“They’re participating in the world’s biggest trial of the four-day workweek, as the global movement toward fewer workdays gathers momentum in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.”

......SNIP"

[gldstwmn]

1. The U.K. Is Launching the World's Largest Four-Day Workweek Experiment

More than 3,300 employees at 70 companies get an extra day off each week for the next six months—without a reduction in pay

Thousands of workers in the United Kingdom will get an extra day off this week—and every week for the next six months—without their paychecks taking a hit in what organizers are calling the largest four-day workweek experiment in the world.

Under the pilot program, employees at a range of companies are working 80 percent of their usual week for 100 percent of their pay. A major caveat: they must maintain 100 percent of their normal productivity even while working the shortened schedule.

Two nonprofits, 4 Day Week Global and 4 Day Week UK Campaign, along with the think tank Autonomy, are leading the experiment in the U.K. this year. They’re partnering with researchers at Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College to study how the four-day workweek affects workplace productivity, employee well-being, gender equality and the environment.

Altogether, 70 companies with more than 3,300 employees are participating, including those working in food and beverage, digital marketing, online retail, skincare, animation, automotive supply, banking, IT software training, recruiting and many other diverse fields.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-uk-is-launching-the-worlds-largest-four-day-workweek-experiment-180980210/#:~:text=Is%20Launching%20the%20World's%20Largest%20Four%2DDay%20Workweek%20Experiment,-More%20than%203%2C300&text=June%207%2C%202022%202%3A05,gender%20equality%20and%20the%20environment.

I like the 4 day work week idea.

[Meadowoak]

2. My company tried this about 10 years ago, after a couple weeks,

Everyone hated it. The days are too long, and that 3 days off really makes you miserable to start those 10 hour shifts 4 days per week. We did it for 2 months and everyone was so grouchy and miserable, we couldn't wait to get back to normal 8 hrs, 5 days a week.

[crickets]

3. Oof, a 10 hour shift for four days does sound miserable. That's not what's being tried here.

There's no change in the daily 8 hours. It's a test of a 32 hour work week.

no paywall link to WaPo article: https://archive.ph/ot0oh

[Meadowoak]

5. That would be a lot better. Better yet if the work days were, M.,T.,

Wednesday off, then Th., Fr., Then Sat. and Sunday off. That would be the perfect schedule for me.

[EmmaLee E]

4. These are not 10 hour days

This is four 8 hour days per week!

Not flextime (four 10 hour days)

Only caveat - the workers must keep up their productivity on the shorter schedule.

I actually liked the flextime four 10 hour days - but only when I had Wednesday off.

[BSdetect]

6. France has had a 35 hour work week for a while? Or is that not still the case?