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(CNN Business) --
It wasn't hard for Samantha Losey, CEO of Unity, a London public relations firm, to convince her team to work fewer hours for the same pay.
But it was an uphill battle persuading his own board to join the world's largest four-day workweek pilot program.
“I had to fight a lot for us to do this as a business… nobody was willing.
They were all very traditional," Losey told CNN Business.
The main concern was whether a 20% cut in weekly working hours would lead to a drop in production and cause customers to flee.
But after a "very difficult journey" to convince his board, and a rocky start, Losey said his team has taken a step forward.
She said that she is 80% sure that everyone will stick to the routine after November, when she finishes her probation.
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“[My head] would roll like Marie Antoinette's if I told this team 'we're not doing this anymore,'” he said.
Unity is one of 70 UK companies taking part in the short-time trial.
For six months beginning in June, more than 3,300 employees have worked 80% of their regular hours — for the same pay — in exchange for promising to deliver 100% of their regular work.
How the World's Largest Four-Day Workweek Trial Changed People's Lives
Samantha Losey, CEO of Unity, and Gary Conroy, founder and CEO of 5 Squirrels, had their companies join the program.
The program is run by the non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global;
Autonomy, a
think tank;
and the 4 Day Week UK campaign, in association with researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and Boston College.
The trial is already bearing fruit for workers hungry for more free time.
Halfway through the pilot, 95% of companies surveyed by 4 Day Week Global say their productivity levels have stayed the same or improved, while 86% say they are likely to make the routine permanent.
For Gary Conroy, founder and CEO of 5 Squirrels, a skincare manufacturer on England's south coast with 13 full-time employees, the new work routine is "so much better all the time." , he told CNN Business.
Some of the benefits were unexpected.
"We've all lost a lot of weight...we were overweight before," she said.
“[The team has] more time to prepare food, [eat] healthily.
A lot of people go to the gym a lot more.”
Is a four-day workweek good for business?
Four months into the trial, Losey said her clients are happy with her performance, while her team is much more inspired and creative.
An internal company study found that productivity increased by 35% and staff said they felt healthier and happier, compared to before the test.
Now, people strive to work in this company.
"We were dying at the beginning of the year trying to find talent and spending money on recruiters left and right," he said.
But since Unity joined the program, Losey said he's "never had so many requests," saving the company a lot of money in hiring costs.
Unity, a public relations agency in London, has installed a "traffic light" system so that staff can indicate if they are available for a chat.
While his board is still skeptical about the impact on commercial production, Unity customers are "desperate" for the experiment to bear fruit, he said, so they can convince their bosses to adopt the routine in their own workplaces. worked.
“I literally had a client today who said… I'm taking him to the HR department,” Losey added.
Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston College, told CNN Business's Christine Romans that the four-day workweek provides "a huge competitive advantage for companies in the job market."
It also makes employees happier and healthier, Schor said.
That's especially important given the demands of the pandemic that pushed many to simply burn out.
“Americans are finding that two days is not enough for the weekend.
They can't do all their errands and [finish] family care and take their kids to activities, and even have a little bit of time to themselves and get ready for the work week," she said. "All of that adds up in two days and it's just not enough."
Related video: Employees of this company will have Fridays off 0:57
"The five-day week just doesn't work for people anymore," Schor added.
However, a four-day work week is not a panacea.
In June, a Gallup survey of more than 12,000 workers in the United States found that while those who worked four days a week reported higher well-being, particularly among those who had to work on-site, there was no corresponding increase in levels of well-being. commitment to their jobs.
“Having higher engagement comes down to how you are managed, and just giving someone a four-day work week doesn't necessarily mean you're well-managed and engaged in your work,” Jim Harter, chief scientist for workplace and wellness Gallup, to CNN Business.
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However, for Losey, adjusting to the new routine was painful.
He described the first week as "Armageddon," with very few colleagues available to respond to a client emergency.
"I sat on the kitchen floor and cried," she said.
Slowly, the team has adapted and introduced new habits that have made a difference.
Internal meetings are now capped at 15 minutes and client meetings at 30 minutes.
Emails to colleagues are not allowed to exceed more than a quarter of a day's total emails.
Employees of 5 Squirrels, a skincare company in the south of England, during "deep work time" in the office, where they can focus on projects without interruptions by email.
In particular, Losey's staff rely on a “traffic light” system to reduce office distractions.
Colleagues have a light on her desk and they turn it green if they like to talk, amber if they're busy but available to talk, and red if they don't want to be interrupted.
“If [the] button is red, approach someone at your own risk,” Losey said.
Conroy said he introduced "deep work time" where, for two hours each morning and two hours each afternoon, his staff ignore emails, calls or instant messages and focus on their projects.
His team even started unplugging the office phones, as they were too distracting.
Customers were initially upset, she said, but have since responded by sending more emails.
Losey said it was worth looking at the risks to the business.
“After having several quiet weeks…it feels like 'how do we get back?'
How do we work five days?
It seems so inhuman,” she said.
“No one here has depression on Mondays,” he added.
four day work week
