In June, the UK started a six-month pilot programme for a shorter work week. More than 3,300 employees in 70 companies across a wide range of industries will be working four days a week with no impact on salary.

The project will follow the “100:80:100 model” which means full salary for 80 per cent of the working hours in exchange for 100 per cent productivity.

The researchers in Boston College, Cambridge and Oxford Universities alongside non-profit groups 4 Day Week Global, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and the UK think tank Autonomy, are aiming to investigate the impact of shorter working hours on productivity, employee wellbeing, gender equality and the environment.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the growing need for increased flexibility and improved work-life balance, as companies embraced hybrid and remote practices – from recruitment, interviews or meetings to webinars and conferences. As a result, companies across the world are now experimenting with various approaches to find more productive ways of working; if the pilot sc