Globally many countries have been trying out the 4 day week. Spain, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, Japan, UAE and Belgium have all switched successfully. The data is also conclusive, productivity is up, profits are up and office health and well being has also increased. Not to mention its impact on reducing carbon emissions
Now the UK is jumping on board with 3,300 taking part in a trial driven by 4 Day Week Campaign who are also working alongside academics from Oxford and Cambridge with the Autonomy think tank. People taking part work for a range of companies and will still earn a 5 day week salary.
The question is will it work for everyone?. Hopefully so but it will take a lot of working out for say 24 hour operations like Airports and hospitality for example. The good news is the UAE is already on a 4.5 day week with Sharjah leading the way with a 4 day week already. As this experiment goes on no doubt it is closely monitored by the government here in the UAE and the entire region. After all, what company would not want an increase in productivity and profit alongside a happy workforce? That said, with access to office tools anywhere and anytime this might also be an opportunity for employers to only offer a 4 day a week salary
For now we will have to just wait and see how our friends over in the UK get on and hope they don’t prove to be the only country so far that gets this opportunity and for some reason can’t make it work after all the temptation to enjoy yourself twice as much as you might normally do will be factor.
