More than 5,000 workers will be able to work a four-day week with 200 UK-based companies signing up to the new workplace phenomenon permanently.

In a recent update from the 4 Day Week Foundation, it was revealed that 200 British companies had signed up for a permanent four-day work week, with tech companies featuring prominently among these firms.

All up, more than 5,000 workers at these companies will now be able to work four days per week for the same level of pay, on the proviso they maintain 100 per cent efficiency.

Of the 200 companies, 24 are in the technology, information technology and software sector.

“A four-day week gives people the freedom to live happier, more fulfilling lives,” the 4 Day Week Foundation posted on X.

“As hundreds of British companies and one local council have already shown, a four-day week with no loss of pay can be a win-win for both workers and employers.

“The 9-5, 5-day working week was invented 100 years ago and is no longer fit for purpose.”

The concept of a 100:80:100 four-day working week, where workers receive full pay for working 20 per cent fewer hours while maintaining full productivity, has gathered steam in the wake of the COVID pandemic and the broad rethink of work’s place in our lives.

Late last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan government in Japan took things further by announcing a plan to implement a four-day work week for all of its government employees.

The new structure will come into effect from April this year.

A growing phenomenon in Australia

The advent of the four-day working week has enjoyed a rise in popularity in Australia, too.

In late 2020, a trial was launched involving 26 companies from Australia and New Zealand pivoting to a four-day work week.

Following this trial, 95 per cent of the participating companies said they would continue with the working model, with significant improvements when it came to employee physical and mental health, a decrease in the number of sick and personal days taken, and an increase in retention.

Last October it was revealed that nearly three-quarters of companies that had participated in a global trial of the concept would not be returning to the normal five-day working week.

A number of large Australian employers have experimented with the four-day week, including Medibank, which in 2023 announced that 250 of its 4,000 full-time and part-time employees would be able to access the scheme.

The ACT government last year signalled that it would explore a trial in the public service, with a working group established to guide this process.

Addressing workplace ill-health

There are hopes that the introduction of a four-day working week will help address – as several studies have found – concerningly low levels of employee wellbeing in the workplace.

Poor wellbeing is having a significant impact on the health of workers, and on productivity and efficiency among the wider economy.

A report this week found that up to one in five Australians are “languishing”, and that this could be having a billion-dollar impact on the economy.

Other studies have identified just how common burnout is among the Australian workforce, with up to four in five people experiencing it to some extent.

A number of these studies have also found that a realignment of work-life balance and the advent of a four-day work week could help to address these concerns and improve the health and wellbeing of workers.

Studies into companies and employees that have implemented a four-day work week have found that it can reduce burnout and improve productivity, creating more effective and efficient workers.