Four-day working week already being offered by 40 firms as trial begins - see full list

Canon is set to trial a new four day working week in the UK, allowing employees to work fewer hours on the same salary – with supermarket giant Morrisons following closely behind.

The British arm of the camera giant will trial a three day weekend with no loss of pay, as part of a six-month trial run by academics at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.

The pilot will see staff from different organisations completing the usual amount of work, and up to 35 hours each week, but split over four days rather than five.

It comes amid growing interest in the potential benefits of giving workers an extra day off.

The pilot programme will be run in conjunction with academics, the UK 4 Day Week Campaign and the thinktank Autonomy. It is being overseen by 4 Day Week Global, a campaign group based in New Zealand.

Six companies have signed a deal so far, with the group aiming for 30 in total across the UK.

Canon Medical Research, which develops AI software, will run the trial among its 140 employees.

Are you in favour of the four-day week or will it lead to more stress due to shorter days? Let us know in the comments below

Ken Sutherland, the president of Canon Medical Research Europe, said: “We recognise that working patterns and the focus we all give to our work-life balance has changed substantially during the pandemic.

“As a responsive employer we are always looking at how we can adapt our working practices to ensure that employees find their time with us is meaningful, fulfilling and productive. For this reason, we’re keen to pilot a four-day week to see if it can work for us.”

The four-day week, will cut one day out of the working week with no loss of pay.

Think tank Autonomy argues its benefits include increased productivity and improved staff retention.

Job site Adecco says it can also relieve pressure on working parents but highlighted the fact that it is not possible in all industries and could lead to more workplace stress as staff cram more work into fewer days.

The four-day working concept first picked up momentum during the 2019 December election, when Labour floated a policy of a 32-hour working week with no loss of pay within ten years.

Atom Bank moved permanently to a four-day week in November – giving staff the flexibility of a three-day weekend. Panasonic this year said it would make the shorter week optional among its workforce.

Several influencer agencies have already adopted it, including Engage Hub, whose employees will have either a Wednesday or a Friday off, rotating every eight weeks.

Other large companies looking at the four-day week include Unilever, the maker of consumer goods ranging from Marmite to Dove soap.

UK supermarket chain Morrisons has also said it would introduce the measure for employees at its Bradford headquarters, according to The Guardian.

Internationally, in August 2019, Microsoft Japan implemented a four-day week giving 2,300 employees five Fridays off in a row.

The company said productivity jumped 40%, meetings were more efficient, and workers - who were also happier - took less time off.

In Iceland, a four day working week trial was carried out between 2015 and 2019 and labelled an “overwhelming success” by researchers.

Workplaces that took part, including hospitals and schools, moved from 40 hour weeks to 36 or 35 hours with some reporting an improved level of productivity among employees.

The trial eventually involved more than 2,500 workers, equal to approximately 1 per cent of Iceland's workforce.

Will Stronge, at think tank Autonomy, said: “This study shows that the world's largest ever trial of a shorter working week in the public sector was by all measures an overwhelming success.

“It shows that the public sector is ripe for being a pioneer of shorter working weeks - and lessons can be learned for other governments.”

Joe O’Connor, pilot programme manager for 4 Day Week Global, said the concept will “herald in a bold new future of work” during 2022.

Mr O'Connor said: “More and more businesses are moving to productivity focused strategies to enable them to reduce worker hours without reducing pay.

“The four-day week challenges the current model of work and helps companies move away from simply measuring how long people are “at work”, to a sharper focus on the output being produced. 2022 will be the year that heralds in this bold new future of work.”

1. 3D Issue - a digital publishing platform
2. Advice Direct Scotland - an advice hub
3. Autonomy - an independent thinktank
4. Big Potato Games - a board game company
5. Blink - a specialist digital marketing agency
6. CMG Technologies - 3D metal moulding
7. Causeway Irish Housing Association - a not-for-profit organisation provind temporary accommodation for young single homeless people
8. Charlton Morris - a specialist search firm
9. Common Knowledge - a not-for-profit building digital tools for grassroots organisers
10. Contour Couture - an aesthetics company
11. Crystallised - a marketing agency
12. Datalase - laser equipment supplier
13. Earth Science Partnership - a consultancy of engineers, geologists and applied environmental scientists
14. Elektra Lighting - lighting consultants
15. Entrepreneurs Circle - a business development service
16. Evolved - search marketing specialists
17. Four Day Week Ltd - a jobs site for four day week and flexible roles
18. Geeks For Social Change - software developers, activists and researchers with a social agenda
19. Gracefruit - a cosmetics company
20. Highfield Professional Solutions - an employment agency
21. Legacy Events - an events management company
22. MRL - a specialist recruitment company for high technology and financial markets
23. PTHR - a design, development and change consultancy
24. Punch Creative - a digital marketing agency
25. Reboot - a digital marketing firm
26. Resilience Brokers - working to improve climate resilience
27. Reward Agency - a marketing agency
28. STOP AIDS - a HIV and AIDS charity
29. Sinister Fish Games - a board game company
30. Social Enterprise Direct - a technological solutions company
31. Softer Success - working with employees to prevent burnout
32. T-Cup Studios - helping employee wellbeing
33. Target Publishing - an independent publisher
34. Technovent - a supplier of medical products for the body prosthesis sector
35. The Circle - hub for charities, social enterprises, community groups and businesses
36. The UPAC Group - a packaging supplier
37. Venture Stream - a digital marketing agency
38. YWCA Scotland - a movement of women leading change
39. flocc - a digital marketing agency
40. streamGO - an events platform

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