- A four-day work week may be just as beneficial for a company as it is for its employees, a new study found
- The 4 Day Week Foundation and Boston College worked with 17 companies in the UK over the course of six months to see how reduced working hou
- One company reported a 129.5% increase in revenue and a 100% decrease in employee personal days over the course of the study
- Up Next: Get 5 Dark Horse Stocks Wall Street Is Quietly Loading Up On
Transitioning to a four-day work week may be advantageous for employers as well as employees, a new study done in the UK by the 4 Day Week Foundation and Boston College finds.
The foundation, which advocates for shorter working hours, just released the findings of its latest national pilot program. Seventeen companies and over 950 employees took part in the six-month program, which cut the work week from 40 hours down to just 32 hours.
As you might have expected, the benefits of the change for employees were primarily positive. Almost half (47%) reported increased job satisfaction, while 62% said they experienced a reduction in burnout. Additionally, 45% of employees reported feeling more satisfied with life following the change, largely because they were experiencing better work-life balance.
Don't Miss:
- Many are using retirement income calculators to check if they’re on pace — here’s a breakdown on what’s behind this formula.
- Named a TIME Best Invention and Backed by 5,000+ Users, Kara's Air-to-Water Pod Cuts Plastic and Costs — And You Can Invest At Just $6.37/Share
What might shock you, however, is that several of the companies that participated in the program also reported that things improved for their businesses after they cut working hours.
Several organizations reported a decrease in the number of resignations over the course of the trial, when compared with a similar six-month period. Others said that they experienced a 30% drop in the number of sick and personal days taken over the course of the trial, when compared to the same six months the year before.
BrandPipe, a London-based software company, had some of the most significant results. The company dropped working hours for its employees from 35 to 28, and reported a 129.5% increase in revenue as well as a 100% reduction in the number of personal days taken by its employees.
- Massive Demand & Disruptive Potential – Boxabl has received interest for over 190,000 homes, positioning itself as a major disruptor in the housing market.
- Revolutionary Manufacturing Approach – Inspired by Henry Ford’s assembly line, Boxabl’s foldable tiny homes are designed for high-efficiency production, making homeownership more accessible.
- Affordable Investment Opportunity – With homes priced at $60,000, Boxabl is raising $1 billion to scale production, offering investors a chance to own a stake in its growth.
Trending: $100k+ in investable assets? Match with a fiduciary advisor for free to learn how you can maximize your retirement and save on taxes – no cost, no obligation.
"The trial's been an overwhelming success for BrandPipe because it has been the launchpad for us to consider what constitutes efficiency, progressive working practice, and the ability to focus on the things that really matter to our business and our customers," BrandPipe CEO Geoff Slaughter told researchers.
Slaughter was so enthusiastic about the results of the trial and the positive effects it had on the company that he encouraged other tech leaders to be open-minded about reducing their office hours. "[It's] a great thing for businesses to try," he told researchers. "The learnings that come out of it are kind of adjacent to the fact that you’ve reduced working hours."
Not everyone is as optimistic about the potential of four-day work weeks. King's College London public policy professor Michael Sanders told CNN that trials like the one run by the 4 Day Week Foundation are self-selected and therefore conducted in companies where the change "would be taken up enthusiastically."
A shorter work week may work for them, but it "doesn't tell us much about what would happen if someone else tried it," he said.
Read Next:
- This AI-Powered Trading Platform Has 5,000+ Users, 27 Pending Patents, and a $43.97M Valuation — You Can Become an Investor for Just $500.25
- If You're Age 35, 50, or 60: Here’s How Much You Should Have Saved Vs. Invested By Now
Image: Shutterstock
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
