Thousands of UK workers have signed up to a four-day week in a trial which will see 60 firms give employees a longer weekend.
3,000 staff will take part in the pilot, starting from June, and will to lose any wages.
The six month scheme is created by the campaign group 4 Day Week Global and has been taken up by charities, chippies and big corporations.
File photo dated 07/01/16 of office workers at their desks in London.
Lauren Hurley
Productivity will be measured by the researchers, with the aim to find out whether staff will be as efficient when working less hours.
Companies taking part in the scheme include:
Hutch , London and Dundee
Royal Society of Biology
Yo Telecom, Southampton
Adzooma , Nottingham, Manchester and London
Pressure Drop Brewing , London
Happy , London
Platten's Fish and Chips , Wells-next-the-Sea
MBL Seminars , Manchester
Eurowagens , Letchworth
Bookishly , Northampton
Outcomes First Group , Bolton
NeatClean , Stratford-upon-Avon
5 Squirrels , Hove
Salamandra , Eton and Dundee
Girling Jones , Exeter
AKA Case Management , Birmingham, Sheffield and Manchester
IE Brand & Digital , Birmingham
Helping Hands
Trio Media
Literal Humans
Physiquipe
Tyler Grange
Timberlake Consultants
Everledge
Scotland's International Development Alliance
Stemette Futures
Comcen
We Are Purposeful
What do politicians think about a four-day week?
In the UK, Jeremy Corbyn wanted to launch a four-day working week in 2019.
The previous Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, launched the policy at the Labour Party conference back in September 2019.
Boris Johnson spoke out against the four-day week proposal, dubbing it a "crackpot plan" and stated that it would be "ruinous for the NHS".
The pandemic has caused a shift to flexible working for many companies, for example Atom Bank made the move to a four-day week last year by making working days longer and freeing up Fridays.
