The four-day week movement has been given a major boost after findings showed that 86% of firms would be likely to make the move permanent.
The data comes at the halfway point of a ground breaking six-month trial of the four-day working week in the 海角视频.
More than 70 organisations with 3300 employees are currently taking part in the trial that includes all kinds of businesses from recruitment firms, consultancy specialists and a traditional fish and chip shop.
They are trialling a four-day week with no loss of pay for employees, based on the principle of the 100:80:100 model - 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintain at least 100% productivity.
Nicci Russell, Managing Director of London-based water efficiency not-for-profit organisation Waterwise, said the pilot initially involved a learning curve:
"It wasn't a walk in the park at the start but no major change ever is.
"We have all had to work at it - some weeks are easier than others and things like annual leave can make it harder to fit everything in - but we're much more settled with it now overall than we were at the start.
"We certainly all love the extra day out of the office and do come back refreshed. It's been great for our wellbeing and we're definitely more productive already."
A series of questions were posed with a multi-choice answer on a scale of 1 to 5. Of those that responded (41 out of the 70 companies) said:
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88% of respondents stated that the four-day week is working 鈥榳ell鈥 for their business at this stage in the trial;
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46% of respondents say their business productivity has 鈥榤aintained around the same level鈥, while 34% report that it has 鈥榠mproved slightly鈥, and 15% say it has 鈥榠mproved significantly;
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On how smooth the transition to a four-day week has been (with 5 being 鈥榚xtremely smooth鈥 and 鈥1鈥 being 鈥榚xtremely challenging鈥), 29% of respondents selected 鈥5鈥, 49% selected 鈥4鈥 and 20% selected 鈥3鈥;
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86% of respondents stated that at this juncture in the trial, they would be 'likely鈥 to consider retaining the four-day week policy after the trial period.
The trial is being run by in partnership with leading think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University, Boston College and Oxford University.
Joe O鈥機onnor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, said: 鈥淲e are learning that for many it is a fairly smooth transition and for some there are some understandable hurdles 鈥 especially among those which have comparatively fixed or inflexible practices, systems, or cultures which date back well into the last century.
鈥淲hile for most organisations the pilot prompts many pleasing discoveries and outcomes, there is friction for others, and this can be based on a variety of factors, many of which can be addressed or substantially improved in the pilot itself.
"4 Day Week Global and our partners are supporting these businesses to ease their transition to a flexible work model, and using the findings to inform the process for many more businesses to trial, adapt, and reap the benefits of emphasising productivity over time 鈥 thereby transforming the world of work for all of us.鈥
These companies are among those taking part
Read more of our coverage on the four-day week:
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If the four-day week is so good, why aren't more people doing it? We ask the experts
- How to do the four-day week, legal questions and tips for getting started
- More than 3300 workers start trial for 4-day week
- The rise of the four-day week and how to make it work
