A research project that tested a four-day work week in 12 companies was considered a success by both the companies and the employees involved.
The project, supported by the Fórsa union and carried out jointly by Four-Day Week Ireland, UCD and Boston College, looked at the financial, social and environmental impact that a four-day working week would have on companies and employees in Ireland.
Nine of the 12 companies that participated in the six-month trial said they were committed to continuing the four-day-a-week program.
The other three also said they planned to continue, but made no commitment to stick with it long-term.
Seven companies provided revenue data, and of these, six reported monthly revenue growth while one reported a decline.
Two companies that tracked energy use have seen reductions.
In general, the management of the companies declared themselves very satisfied with the result of the experimentation in terms of productivity and overall experience.
On a scale of 1 to 10, from very negative to very positive, the companies’ average rating for the test was 9.2.
The results show that 100% of the employees involved in the process said they would prefer to work fewer hours.
The research looked at the impact the four-day week had on employees and found significant improvements in life satisfaction and a variety of well-being outcomes.
The study found that stress, burnout, fatigue and conflict between work and family decreased significantly and average sleep time increased.
Speaking to Morning Ireland, Dr Kelly said positive results included a decrease in sleep deprivation and an increase in life satisfaction.
The biggest benefit was that people felt less stressed about the weather, he said.
Dr. Kelly said people reported using their day off to do life management tasks and catch up.
This allowed them to use the weekends for leisure, she said.
Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the inquiry highlighted the need for a more balanced work-life schedule.
“The four-day week can be at the forefront of a new age of work, providing transformative social benefits without losing pay or productivity,” Mr Callinan said, reports RTE.
One of the companies that participated in the trial, Codema, said that the improvement in staff well-being and job satisfaction resulted in a more efficient, motivated and dedicated team.
“We believe this new way of working gives us the competitive edge when attracting new talent and retaining our valuable staff so that we can continue delivering the same high-quality service to our clients,” said Edel Giltenane, HR & Operations Manager, Codema, reports RTE.
Another participating company, Rent a Recruiter, said it undertook the four-day week experiment to help recruit and retain staff.
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