Four-day week good for workers and employers, a study says

London - A trial of a four-day working week in the public sector has found an increase in productivity and improvements in staff well-being, reports said.

The pilot saw workers at Accountant in Bankruptcy and South of Scotland Enterprise switch to a 32-hour week with no loss of pay or benefits.

The Autonomy Institute, which was commissioned by Scottish government to coordinate the pilot, found that 98% of staff judged morale and motivation to have improved.

Will Stronge, chief executive of the Autonomy Institute, said that the results of the Scottish government pilot have been overwhelmingly positive, demonstrating that both the workers and employers involved are thriving.

The year-long pilot found sick days for psychological reasons dropped by 25.7%, BBC reported.

Employees' days off were staggered to make sure services were provided for the full working week.

Accountant in Bankruptcy found mental health improved by 18.4% and work stress dropped by the same amount.

At South of Scotland Enterprise, the percentage of staff feeling "very satisfied" with their work-life balance rose very sharply, from 4% pre-pilot to 84%, nine months in.

Staff with caring responsibilities were particularly supportive of the pilot, with some describing it as "life changing".

Both organisations opted to extend the pilot beyond the research period.

In July, the Liberal Democrat-run South Cambridgeshire District Council became the first local authority in the UK to permanently adopt the four-day working pattern after running a similar trial.

The authority said an independent report, from the universities of Salford, Bradford and Cambridge, highlighted how 21 out of 24 services at the council had improved or stayed the same since the four-day week began in 2023.

Minister warns the Council

The UK Minister for Local Government,  Steve Reed, has warned South Cambridgeshire that the policy has damaged performance based on an independent report.

He also said it was not in line with government policy to provide 100% pay for 80% of workload.

In a letter  to the Council’s Liberal Democrat leader, Bridget Smith, the Minister said, “The independent report shows that performance declined in key housing-related services including rent collection, reletting times and tenant satisfaction with repairs, especially where vulnerable residents may be affected.”

“If social housing is being built by this government and your team is unable to move residents into them so that they are standing empty then I must reiterate my deep disappointment with your conduct,” the Minister said.

Smith disputed the claims in the letter, reporting that staff had done “100% of their work in 32 hours each week” since the policy was introduced.

“Where we previously struggled to recruit and retain expert colleagues such as planners, we now have a full planning service which has just published our most ambitious local plan proposals ever, delivering on the government’s agenda to increase housing and jobs in our area. These results speak for themselves,” she said.