The results are in from the biggest 4-day work week trial. Although there were many positive outcomes, one of the most interesting finds is that men did a lot more childcare during the trial, CNN reports.
2,900 employees across 61 companies throughout the United Kingdom participated. The trial began in June of last year and lasted for six months. Employees worked 80% of their usual hours while still delivering 100% of their usual output and all without any changes to their salaries. The organizers of the trial, 4 Day Week Global (4DWG), a nonprofit organization, report that this has been the highest number of companies to ever participate in such a study.
World's LARGEST 4 day week trial is a HUGE success, with almost EVERYONE keeping their #4DayWeek post-pilot! 61 UK companies and nearly 3,000 employees participated
Here are the results
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— 4 Day Week Global (@4dayweek_global) February 21, 2023
The employees kept a journal of their activities during the trial. Those time diaries revealed that male employees spent more time on childcare. Working moms also reported an increase on time spent in childcare but for those female employees their childcare time went up by 13%, whereas for working dads it was a whopping 27%.
Charlotte Lockhart, founder and managing director of 4DWG, spoke to CNN and said, “It is wonderful to see that we can shift the dial and start to create more balance of care duties in households.”
We are all for anything that can tip the scales of balance. Parental work-life balance is an extremely tricky thing to navigate. Working moms have notoriously been bearing the brunt of household responsibilities. Last year, Motherly’s annual State of Motherhood survey revealed 46% of mothers were forced to leave the workforce in 2021 due to childcare issues.
The employees who took part in the trial were also tasked with answering a survey at the end. 60% said they had an easier time managing care responsibilities along with their job responsibilities. 62% reported that managing a social life was easier.
The study was conducted with a few different partners including researchers from Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College, as well as, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and a think tank called, Autonomy.
The organizers called it a “resounding success” and it’s not hard to see why. 71% said they had “lower levels of burnout” and 40% said their sleep improved.
92% of the companies who participated in the trial have said they will continue on with the 4-day work week because of all the positive outcomes.
This is not the only study to have conducted such an experiment. According to CNN, there was a separate study involving 33 companies and 903 employees where they also experimented with a 4-day work week. That trial had even better results since 100% of the participating companies kept on with the 4-day work week after the trial ended. The majority of the employees were based in the US and Ireland.
You can find the results of the full report for the UK trial here.