91% of the UK companies that took part in the world’s largest four-day work pilot have said they will continue with it now the trial has ended.
The pilot programme – which was run by 4 Day Week Global, in partnership with think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign, and a number of university researchers from Oxford, Cambridge, and Boston College – began in June 2022, and ran for a total of six-months before it was brought to a close earlier this year.
More than 60 companies and 3,300 workers from firms spanning a variety of industries signed up to the trial – with companies in banking, hospitality, care, IT, software training, and even animation studios taking part in the trial.
Staff taking part in the trial were given 100% of their pay for 80% of their time on the understanding that they maintain maximum productivity over the four days.
With the trial now complete, the feedback from participating companies provided, and the results determined, 4 Day Week Global has revealed that almost every organisation from the trial will stick to a four-day week – with 91% saying they will definitely continue or are planning to continue, and a further 4% leaning towards continuing.
Only 4% of participating organisations said they wouldn’t continue.
IT WORKS.
⁃ 92% of companies keep it ⁃ Burnout down by 71% ⁃ Sick days down by 65% ⁃ Revenue up 1.4% on avg.
No question about it – the UK’s 4-day week trial was a 𝙝𝙪𝙜𝙚 success.
Companies rated their overall experience of the six-month trial an average of 8.5 out of 10.
Business productivity and business performance each scored 7.5 out of 10, while revenue rose by 35% over the trial period when compared to similar periods from the previous year, and hiring increased and employee absentees decreased.
The health and wellbeing of employees also improved, according to 4 Day Week Global – with significant increases in physical and mental health, time spent exercising, and overall life and job satisfaction.
Rates of stress, burnout, and fatigue all fell, and problems with sleep declined.
Environmental outcomes were also encouraging, according to those running the campaign – with commuting time falling by an average of half an hour per week.
91% of UK trial companies to continue four-day work week after ‘major breakthrough’ / Credit: RawPixel
Speaking on the success of the trial, leader researcher Professor Juliet Schor of Boston College says she saw an “encouraging consistency” in the data, and added that: “Results are largely steady across workplaces of varying sizes, demonstrating this is an innovation which works for many types of organisations.
“There are also some interesting differences.
“We found that employees in non-profits and professional services had a larger average increase in time spent exercising, while those in construction and manufacturing enjoyed the largest reductions in burnout and sleep problems.”
Overall, 4 Day Week Global says the trial has been a “huge success” and a “massive breakthrough” – which ultimately signals “good news for the future of work”.
The campaign’s co-founder and managing director, Charlotte Lockhart, said the organisation is looking forward to adding its Australasian pilot results to the UK data “in the coming weeks”, as well as the results from the European, South African, Brazilian, and North American trials over the next couple of months.
Urgent appeal issued following serious road traffic collision involving motorcyclist on M60
Emily Sergeant
An urgent appeal has been issued following a serious road traffic collision on the M60.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) are appealing for information and dash-cam footage, as well as urging witnesses to come forward, after a motorcyclist suffered life-threatening injuries during a collision on the M60 this past Saturday (12 July).
Shortly after 1:40pm, police were called a report of a collision involving a motorbike on the anti-clockwise side of the motorway, between junctions 25 and 24.
When patrols responded and arrived on the scene, they found a man in his 50s – believed to be the motorcyclist – with life-threatening injuries, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment in an air ambulance, with his family being informed in the process.
An urgent appeal has been issued following a serious road traffic collision involving motorcyclist on the M60 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The M60 was closed in one direction, between Bredbury and Denton, following the crash from around 2:30pm onwards, and all traffic was diverted while investigations were ongoing.
GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit is in the process of conducting enquiries, and at this time, it isn’t believed that any other vehicle was involved in this incident.
This is why police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or who has dash-cam footage, to get in on contact.
Police have also thanked the members of the public who stopped by the roadside to give the man initial first aid before emergency services arrived.
Police issue update on Oasis arrests and fence-jumpers
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester Police have shared an update on the arrests made at the opening two nights of Oasis Live ’25.
More than 100,000 people have flocked up to Heaton Park on Friday and Saturday evening for the first two of five Oasis reunion shows.
And largely, things have gone without a hitch, with only 15 arrests made so far.
The majority of these are arrests on suspicion of fraud, with five men and a woman in three separate incidents attempting to access the Oasis gig with fake accreditation.
Another man was arrests on suspicion of assaulting a member of security staff.
Two more men were arrested on suspicion of assault – a section 18 inside the Oasis gig at Heaton Park, and another for a section 47 outside.
Police have also said that ‘a number of people’ have attempted to access the gigs without tickets, with a perimeter gate breached on Saturday night, but ‘failed to do so’.
Five drones which breached airspace restrictions were seized on Friday.
A Section 34 Dispersal Order, which gives officers the power to direct individuals to leave a specified area and not return for 48 hours, has been in place for each night of the Oasis concerts so far.
This will be re-assessed before each concert this week, with the Gallagher brothers back at Heaton Park on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
GMP around Manchester ahead of the Oasis reunion shows. Credit: GMP
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle said: “We have been planning for these events for several months, working with partners and the organisers to make sure everyone can enjoy the concerts safely. To that end, I’m pleased to say that the first two Oasis homecoming events have been a success.
“What has been especially pleasing is how more than 100,000 people have enjoyed these iconic events safely and without trouble.
“We will have a highly visible presence in and around Heaton Park, and across the city, to ensure the next three events continue to pass safely.
“A number of people without tickets attempted to gain entry through a perimeter gate on Saturday night but failed to do so.
Credit: The Manc GroupCredit: Tiktok benwalkerofficialPolice say ‘just 15’ arrests made at Oasis so far
“We continue to support the event organisers and the local authority with their plans preventing any unauthorised access to the arena site.
“While arrests have thankfully been minimal, we have had to take some suspects to custody, including one after an alleged assault on a steward on Saturday night. We will not tolerate any abuse of anyone doing their job.
“On Friday night we also dealt with a number of breaches of airspace restrictions involving drones where our officers seized five drones and spoke to two other pilots.
“We continue to have airspace restrictions in place on the nights of the concerts and anyone found breaching the one-and-a-half-mile restriction zone could face prosecution.”
Emily Sergeant -
22nd February 2023 
