Update: 4 Day Week Global Is at It Again

Welcome back to our continuing coverage of 4 Day Week Global’s heroic plan to make the four-day work week an international standard. Since the new year, 4 Day Week Global has provided some nice updates which we’ll get to in just a bit, but before we start, let’s take a little stroll down memory lane and get all caught up on what 4 Day Week Global has been up to over the last year or so.

Last June, 4 Day Week Global teamed up with think tank Autonomy and researchers at Boston College, Cambridge University, and Oxford University to conduct a six-month trial of more than 3,000 employees at 70 companies in the UK that participated in a four-day work week. The trial encompassed a variety of industries including retail, construction, technology, marketing, design, finance, non-profit organizations, and more. Participants received 100% of their standard pay while working 80% of the time, while experts collected data in several key areas including stress levels, burnout potential, job satisfaction, sleep patterns, energy use, and overall heath.

4 Day Week Global’s mission is to prove to the world that the four-day work week is not only great for productivity, employee retention, and job satisfaction, but it’s also a benefit to the environment since it contributes to reduced carbon emissions. Further, when there’s more time to relax and decompress, employees will experience better physical and emotional health. If you want to take a look at the results of the UK trial, check out our previous blog.

Now that we’ve got the past out of the way, let’s talk about the present. 4 Day Week Global recently announced that it has brought on behavior scientist Dr. Dale Whelehan as its new Chief Executive Officer. This is notable as Whelehan is an expert in the field of well-being, and is aligned with 4 Day Week Global’s values, believing that a shorter work week will be transformative for society due to its numerous health benefits. Since Whelehan came on board, co-founders Charlotte Lockhart and Andrew Barnes expressed further optimism for 4 Day Week Global and the normalization of the four-day work week around the world.

In other news, 4 Day Week Global is going into high gear with its international endeavors, announcing that South Africa began its very own four-day work week trial on March 1st. For this trial, 4 Day Week Global partnered up with Boston College and Stellenbosch Business School. The trial consists of twenty-eight South African businesses, along with one Botswanan business, equating to around 500 participating employees and business owners. Participating industries include technology, finance, marketing, consulting, fitness, and more.

Additionally, the Welsh Petitions Committee has proposed that the Welsh Government should seek to work with organizations that specialize in work time reduction. Care to hazard a guess at which organization answered the call? If you guessed 4 Day Week Global, you’re right! 4 Day Week Global co-founder Charlotte Lockhart states that “The Welsh Government now has the opportunity to be a global leader on [the four-day work week] front, acting as a real driver for change.” But wait, there’s still more!

Just days ago, the Australian Senate Work and Care Committee also decided to go ahead with a four-day work week trial, stating “The committee recognizes that a reduced working week and in particular, a four-day week, offers a range of benefits for both employers and employees. Key amongst these benefits is that a reduced working week normalizes care as a part of working life.” Further, the committee believes that the four-day work week will encourage job creation, and also has the potential to level the gender playing field.

We also must not forget that the North American four-day work week trial is ongoing, with the results expected to come in some time in the next month or so. With all these trials going on, the idea of a four-day work week will undoubtedly enter the mainstream in the near future. So, what does this mean? Well, the results from the UK trial were very promising, and with the heightened interest of the four-day work week in many other countries around the world, it might get to the point where companies will have to offer a reduced work week as a perk if they want to remain competitive.

As always, keep it dialed in here for all your 4 Day Week Global news. We’ll be providing updates on the North American trial in the near future, along with further information about all those new trials that are slated to begin. If you’d like to learn more about 4 Day Week Global, you can check out the official website. For now, let’s all just keep dreaming about those three-day weekends.