First UK council trial of four-day week set to be extended
Amazing news for those holding out hope for a four-day work week to be implemented in the UK - things are looking, and I quote: 'Overwhelmingly positive'.
That's from South Cambridgeshire Council, the first council in the UK to experiment with the four-day week trial.
Back in January, a team of 450 desk workers on the South Cambridgeshire council started testing out the scheme on a three-month pilot basis, opting to take either a Monday or Friday off to make a three-day weekend.
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On the remaining four working days, they were expected to work just as hard, and their pay was not at all affected by the extra day off.
It's an experiment that's being trialled all over the UK across 60 different companies, from major firms to breweries to fish and chip shops - and so far, the results have been pretty great.
And for South Cambridgeshire council, it's been no different.
In fact, it's been so successful that, not only are they planning to extend the trial for an additional 12 months, but the council are also expanding it to include refuse workers on their own three-month pilot scheme.
Commenting on the success of the scheme so far, the council's leader Bridget Smith told The Guardian: "I am really pleased with the way this trial’s gone.
"We look at those 52 days off a year not as a right but as a gift, for working much more intensely and working smarter."
As if that wasn't promising enough, a survey of staff who took part in the trial showed that 88.5 percent wanted it to continue, and a majority described their health and wellbeing as 'overwhelmingly positive' as a result of the trial.
Smith also shared that informal chats with staff taught her that workers were using their extra day off as a 'special day' to do activities they never had time to do before, and spend more time with their family.
Plus, the number of staff who had been vocal about considering leaving the council has dropped significantly over the course of the three-month trial.
Commenting on the success for South Cambridgeshire council, Joe Ryle, who is the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: "South Cambridgeshire’s historic trial has been an undeniable success and it paves the way for other councils across the country to follow their lead."
A final decision on whether or not the council will extend their pilot scheme will be made during a cabinet on 15 May.
Everybody cross your fingers and toes.
Ali Condon