One year on from the results of the world’s biggest ever four-day working week pilot which took place in the United Kingdom in 2022, companies that took part have reported significant and lasting success.

This report offers new insight into the effects of a four-day week on workers over the longer term, as well as into the strategies used by organisations to fit shorter working hours to their particular circumstances.

Key findings:

• Of the 61 organisations that took part in the 2022 UK four-day week pilot, at least 54 have confirmed that they are still operating the policy one year later (89%). In addition, at least 31 have made the four-day week permanent – 51% of all participating companies.
• Organisations were invited to participate in a follow-up study one year later, to see how the four-day week was taking effect. Almost half of the original cohort (28 organisations) agreed to take part in these follow-up research engagements, providing feedback on the policy itself, how to 'make it stick' in the long term, and the lasting impacts of the four-day week.
• There have been many positive initiatives and strategies that organisations have used to maintain their four-day week policies, including revising the norms around meetings, communications, work prioritisation and more.
• Interviews and qualitative feedback also shed further light on what staff were doing with their days off. Themes were broadly consistent with those seen during the original pilot, including a focus on care responsibilities, hobbies, and clearing out chores during the week in order to have quality time on the weekend.