17 UK Organizations Maintain Four-Day Workweek After Experiment
London Software Company Reports "130% Increase in Sales"
Among Four Companies Sharing Revenue Data, Three Saw Sales Rise, One Saw a Decline
Trend Spreads Abroad... Four-and-a-Half-Day Workweek Gains Public Attention in Korea
According to the results of a new experiment conducted in the United Kingdom, transitioning to a four-day workweek can have a positive impact on corporate profitability.
On July 3 (local time), CNN reported that all 17 organizations that participated in the four-day workweek experiment led by the UK civil movement group "4 Day Week Foundation" have continued the system even after the experiment ended. From November of last year to April of this year, for a period of six months, about 1,000 employees at 17 companies and institutions experienced a four-day workweek while maintaining the same salary and workload. The benefits of the reduced workweek were not limited to employees. Some organizations saw an increase in sales and a decrease in sick days, compared to the same period the previous year.
Brandpie, a software company headquartered in London, reportedly saw its sales increase by nearly 130%. Jeff Slaughter, co-founder and CEO of Brandpie, said, "This experiment was a tremendous success for Brandpie," and added, "The four-day workweek is an excellent system that companies should consider trying."
Brandpie was one of four organizations that provided revenue data. Among these four, three saw an increase in sales during the experiment period compared to the six months prior to the experiment, while one saw a decrease. All four organizations reported a reduction in employee sick leave and personal days during the experiment period. However, it was noted that the data related to revenue and absenteeism is limited, making it difficult to generalize the results.
In a larger-scale UK experiment conducted in 2022, 61 organizations participated, and most continued the reduced workweek system even a year later. Similarly, in experiments conducted in the United States and Canada in 2022 and 2023, most companies have continued to maintain the system.
However, CNN reported that there are also criticisms of these studies. Michael Sanders, a professor of public policy at King's College London, pointed out that such experiments have a "self-selection" bias. In other words, the companies that participated in the experiments were likely to be those that were already open to adopting a four-day workweek. In an interview with CNN, he said, "A reduced workweek may work well for highly motivated companies and employees, but it is unclear how it would work elsewhere."
In response, the 4 Day Week Foundation countered that "in recent years, experiments conducted around the world have involved hundreds of companies from various industries, each with different levels of enthusiasm and commitment." One CEO who participated in the experiment said, "I expect that within the next 10 years, most organizations will implement this system."
From this month, Cafe24, an e-commerce platform, has introduced a four-day workweek. Cafe24 homepage
In South Korea, discussions on the 4.5-day workweek are gaining momentum. President Lee Jaemyung stated at his first press conference after taking office that the 4.5-day workweek is "an inevitable path we must take." Gyeonggi Province has launched a pilot project for the 4.5-day workweek. The system, which reduces working hours without cutting wages, will be applied to 67 private companies in the Gyeonggi region and 68 public institutions under Gyeonggi Province, including the Gyeonggi Content Agency.
In the case of the e-commerce platform Cafe24, the company expanded its existing twice-a-month off-days to every Friday off, and has been implementing the four-day workweek since July 1. Although the number of working days has been reduced due to the introduction of the four-day workweek, weekday working hours and wages reportedly remain unchanged.
Public opinion on the 4.5-day workweek is divided. Last month, data consulting firm PMI conducted a national public opinion survey of 1,000 people aged 19 to 69 across the country regarding the new government's launch, and found that 37.9% responded positively to the introduction of the 4.5-day workweek. The proportion of respondents who were neutral was 36.6%, while 25.5% had a negative view. Among those who evaluated the system positively, the most anticipated benefit was "improvement in work-life balance" (64.0%), followed by "improved job satisfaction and working environment" (14.6%), "increased work efficiency and productivity" (13.4%), and "expanded youth employment opportunities" (7.6%).
On the other hand, the most cited concern was "burden from reduced income or working hours" (29.4%). This was followed by "decline in productivity and occurrence of work gaps" (25.4%), "issues of fairness between industries and job categories" (24.0%), and "lack of practicality or premature timing" (20.5%).
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