Four-day global workweek pilot program a huge success, organizers say

Four-day work week: A test that pays off 4:54

London (CNN Business) --

The verdict is in: A four-day work week is good for business.

After six months, most of the 33 companies and 903 workers that have tested the schedule, with no pay cut, are unlikely to return to a standard workweek, according to organizers of the global pilot programme.

None of the 27 participating companies that responded to a survey conducted by 4 Day Week Global said they were leaning or planning to return to their old five-day routine.

About 97% of the 495 employees who responded said they wanted to stick with a four-day week.

Most of the companies that participated in the test were based in the United States and Ireland.

Survey respondents rated their overall experience a 9 out of 10, based on productivity and performance.

The workers were similarly positive about the trial, reporting lower levels of stress, fatigue, insomnia and exhaustion, and improvements in physical and mental health.

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• The executives of this company are asking their staff to work less for the same salary.

  Will be worth?

The trial was also good for the company's profits.

Median income increased 38% compared to the same period last year, according to the survey.

4 Day Week Global, a non-profit organization, collaborated with researchers from Boston College, University College Dublin, and Cambridge University for the test.

It was divided into two cohorts, beginning in February and April of this year.

Juliet Schor, a professor of sociology at Boston College and the trial's principal investigator, said employees did not report an increase in the intensity of their work.

“This suggests that the work reorganization strategy was successful and performance was not achieved [by speeding up], which is neither sustainable nor desirable,” he said.

Win win

Jon Leland, chief strategy officer at Kickstarter, a crowdfunding site participating in the test, described the timeline as a "true win-win."

“The four-day week has been transformative for our business and our people.

The staff is more focused, more engaged and more dedicated, helping us achieve our goals better than ever before,” she said in a statement.

• Chick-fil-A franchise owner has the winning recipe for attracting employees: a three-day workweek

A separate six-month trial in the UK, also run by 4 Day Week Global, and involving 70 companies and 3,300 workers, concluded this month.

The results of that trial—the world's largest to date—will be published in February.

Earlier this year, workers in the UK trial described to CNN Business how the extra day off had improved their lives, giving them more time to run errands, pursue hobbies and simply recharge.

Calls to shorten the work week have gained traction in recent years.

As millions of employees shifted to remote work during the pandemic—reducing the time and cost of commuting—those calls have only gotten louder.