Every 4-Day Work Week Study (& Key Stats From Each) | Buildremote (original) (raw)
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4-Day Work Week Studies: The Overview
Here are all of the studies that analyze productivity, benefits, profitability, employee happiness, and more for companies and countries that have implemented a four-day work week.
| Organization | Study Title | Year Published | Key Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Going Public: Iceland's Journey To A Shorter Working Week | 2021 | Learn more | |
| Bolt's 4-Day Work Week Trial | 2021 | Learn more | |
| 4-Day Work Weeks: Results From 2020 and Our Plan for 2021 | 2021 | Learn more | |
| We dropped to a 4-day work week, here's what happened | 2021 | Learn more | |
| Software Delsol's 4-Day Work Week | 2020 | Learn more | |
| Four Better or Four Worse? | 2019 | Learn more | |
| Work Life Choice Challenge 2019 Summer | 2019 | Learn more | |
| Perpetual Guardian’s 4-day workweek trial: Qualitative research analysis | 2018 | Learn more | |
| Utah State Employees 4/10 Work Week Trial | 2011 | Learn more |
Active Studies (Awaiting Results)
Here are some active four-day studies that have yet to publish results.
| Organization | Study Title | Year Started | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2022 Pilot Programme | 2022 | 4 Day Week Global"This pilot is a coordinated, 6-month trial in the UK of a four-day working week, with no loss in pay for employees."CNBC"More than 50 British companies with 3,000 employees have signed up for that trial." | |
| Spain's 4-Day Work Week Trial | 2021 | Reasons to be Cheerful"Under the plans, an estimated 200 to 400 Spanish companies will voluntarily take part in the project by reducing their employees’ working week to 32 hours while keeping their salaries the same. The government will compensate participating businesses for any higher costs incurred by the changes, such as the need to hire additional staff or to reorganize scheduling and shift patterns." | |
| Scotlands 4-Day Work Week Trial | 2021 | BBC"Scotland is to trial a four-day week, but without a loss of pay. A report out today includes some ideas for how it could be done, drawing on experience in Iceland and New Zealand." | |
| Unilever New Zealand Trial | 2020 | Unilever"Unilever New Zealand will trial a four-day work week at full pay, becoming the first global company to do so in Aotearoa. All 81 of Unilever’s staff members will be eligible to participate in the trial." |
Study Details & Statistics
In this section, you can learn more about each completed study from the table at the top. Here you’ll find key statistics and findings from each study.
Going Public: Iceland’s Journey To A Shorter Working Week
Key Statistics
Analysis of the results which included 2,500 workers – over 1% of Iceland’s entire working population – found…
“86% of the country’s workforce are now working shorter hours or gaining the right to shorten their hours.”
“Workers at Icelandic Government workplaces that saw reductions in working time experienced improvements in wellbeing at work. Meanwhile, control workplaces working a full working week showed no such improvements.”
“Participants reported a marked benefit in terms of work-life balance for workplaces where hours were shortened, while comparison workplaces did not show such a benefit.”
Bolt’s 4-Day Work Week Trial
Key Statistics
“A survey taken of the 550 full-time employees at the end of the three-month trial period found 94% of workers and 91% of managers wanted the program to continue”
“84% of employees said they have been more productive”
“86% said they have been more efficient with their time”
4-Day Work Weeks: Results From 2020 and Our Plan for 2021
Key Statistics
“Nearly 34 percent felt more productive than when we had a five-day work week, nearly 60 percent felt equally as productive, and less than seven percent felt less productive”
“Reported autonomy and flexibility in May of 2020 was at 4.3 out of 5 (5 being “total autonomy”) – this increased to 4.7 by the end of our six-month pilot”
“Our stress levels in May 2020 (when we first launched the experiment) was 3.3 out of 5 (5 being high stress) – this dipped down to 2.7 at our June survey, and 2.9 in our October survey”
We dropped to a 4-day work week, here’s what happened
Key Statistics
After implementing the four-day work week, these key metrics grew at the following rates…
“Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) — 99% growth YoY”
“Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) (YTD) — 90% growth YoY”
“Nights booked through our marketplace (YTD) — 120% growth YoY”
Software Delsol’s 4-Day Work Week
Key Statistics
“None of the company’s 189 employees has left since the plan went into effect”
“Absenteeism dropped 28 percent revenues have grown at the same rate”
Four Better or Four Worse?
Key Statistics
Research of over 500 business leaders and 2,000 employees includes businesses that have already implemented a four-day working week….
“Businesses state that these factors are helping them run more cost-effectively. The combined savings to UK business is already as high as £92 billion a year, 2% of total annual turnover.”
“Almost two-thirds (64%) of employers report an increase in staff productivity as well as an improvement in the quality of work being produced (63%).”
“75% believe less rigid working hours are key to harmonising the age diverse workplace and 44% see a four-day working week as the right solution.”
“82% of businesses say being available to customers is the biggest barrier to implementing a four-day week.”
Source: Four Better or Four Worse?
Work-Life Choice Challenge: 2019 Summer
Key Statistics
“The result, the company says, was a productivity boost of 40%”
“The vast majority of employees – 92% – said they liked the shorter week”
“Electricity costs fell by 23%”
Perpetual Guardian’s 4-day workweek trial: Qualitative research analysis
Key Statistics
“20% lift in employee productivity”
“27% reduction in work stress levels”
“45% increase in employee work-life balance”
Utah State Employees 4/10 Work Week Trial
Key Statistics
When the Department of Human Resources Management surveyed employees for a 2009 report…
More than 82% of respondents wanted to continue with the 4/10 work week”
“Annual savings were 502,000with4/10sinplace,wellbelowthe502,000 with 4/10s in place, well below the 502,000with4/10sinplace,wellbelowthe3 million target”
“In the end, legislators jettisoned the 4/10 experiment primarily out of skepticism about its effectiveness as a money-saving endeavor,”
Did we miss a 4-day study?
We read and write a lot about the four-day work week. And we did some detailed research to find every study on the topic, but we may have missed some. Please fill in the form on this page to add a study we may have missed.
Want to learn more about the 4-day work week?
Take a look at our complete overview of the four-day work week here. Start with the overview or pick a specific chapter that interests you. Or, watch our interview with the CEO of 4 Day Week Global, Dr. Dale Whelehan.