The majority of companies that took part in the world’s biggest trial of a four-day working week have decided to continue with this new way of working, following a successful six-month trial.

Sixty-one companies across several sectors in the UK were involved in the four-day week pilot last June to test the feasibility of the 100:80:100 model, where employees work for 80% of the time for 100% of the salary, and are expected to maintain 100% productivity.

Of the 61 companies that took part, 56 have decided to extend the four-day week, including 18 who have made it permanent.

Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, called the trial a “major breakthrough moment”.

“Across a wide variety of sectors, wellbeing has improved dramatically for staff and business productivity has either been maintained or improved in nearly every case,” says Ryle.

“We’re really pleased with the results and hopefully it does show that the time to roll out a four-day week more widely has surely come.”

Around 2,900 employees across the UK took part in the pilot. According to The Guardian, staff who were surveyed before and after the trial said they were 39% less stressed, 40% were sleeping better and 54% said it was easier to balance work and home responsibilities.

The number of sick days taken during the trial also dropped by about two-thirds and 57% fewer staff left the firms compared with the same period last year.

The findings from the trial will be presented to MPs on Tuesday in a bid to push politicians to give all workers in Britain a 32-hour week.

According to Will Stronge and Kyle Lewis – authors of the book Overtime: Why We Need A Shorter Working Week – the move to a four-day week could make a big difference to the levels of chronic stress experienced by workers across the UK.

“Various studies have shown – and we point to the work of Sabine Sonnentag in the book – that regular time off is really important to our health and to avoid burnout,” Stronge tells Stylist.

“Holidays allow us to jump out of the world of work, rest and enjoy a relaxation period, but once you start again, you start to see symptoms of burnout creep in again. So having regular time off for rest and recuperation has an added benefit compared to just getting more holiday allowance.”  

Lewis adds that a four-day week can also be beneficial because it gives people more time to do things that reduce their stress levels.

“From my experience working with companies that have tried this, it definitely has a huge effect,” says Lewis. “People feel more rested, able to do more activities that they enjoy doing and also being able to do other work obligations outside of paid employment, like caring for loved ones.”

While we’re not all experiencing a four-day working week just yet, the continued success of the trial shows that it really is possible.

Image: Getty