17 companies switch to 4-day work week in UK

By Alimat Aliyeva

All 17 British companies that participated in a six-month experiment with a four-day workweek have decided to continue operating under the same schedule, Azernews reports.

The management of these companies, which collectively employ about 1,000 people, acknowledged that employee productivity has not decreased; in fact, some companies even saw an increase in sales. Despite the reduction in working days, employees’ salaries remained unchanged.

The experiment took place from November 2024 to April 2025 as part of a project by the international organization 4 Day Week, supported by researchers from Oxford, Cambridge, and Boston.

In 2022, a pilot experiment involving a similar change in working hours was conducted in the UK, with over 70 companies participating. Of those, 86% chose to continue with the four-day workweek after the experiment ended.

Project developers claim that reducing the workweek lessens the mental health burden on employees, boosts their motivation and quality of work, and makes it easier for employers to attract new talent willing to accept such conditions.

Interestingly, this movement is part of a growing global trend. For example, in Iceland, from 2015 to 2019, over 2,500 workers took part in a trial of a shorter workweek, with 86% of both employees and employers reporting positive results and a desire to continue. This reflects a broader shift towards rethinking traditional work models in favor of more flexible and productive employment arrangements.