Six UK companies are taking part in a four-day working week pilot scheme set to last six months, with as many as 30 companies potentially signing up in the region.

The hope is that a four-day week will increase worker productivity, benefitting both their own personal time and what business can achieve from its employees.

The global pandemic has impacted how long and where people are working, with Working From Home guidance offering companies and self-employed people the opportunity to experiment with what's dubbed the 'normal' work life.

Research suggests 78 per cent of employees with four day working weeks reported better mood and less stress. Crucially, employees will be paid for the same amount as if they were working five days a week.

The pilot is being led by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with think tank Autonomy; the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and researchers at Oxford University, Boston College, and Cambridge University.

Joe O’Connor, pilot programme manager for 4 Day Week Global, said: “More and more businesses are moving to productivity focused strategies to enable them to reduce worker hours without reducing pay.

“We are excited by the growing momentum and interest in our pilot program and in the four-day week more broadly.

“The four-day week challenges the current model of work and helps companies move away from simply measuring how long people are “at work”, to a sharper focus on the output being produced. 2022 will be the year that heralds in this bold new future of work.”

Meanwhile, in Ireland, Typetec has revealed plans to move all of its employees to a four-day working week from the start of February 2022.

As one of first members of the Four Day Week Ireland programme, it will be initially introduced as a 6-month trial with plans to make it permanent for all employees upon successful completion of the trial.

“20 Irish companies have boldly embraced a productivity-focused, reduced-hour model of work with the support of 4 Day Week Global," Joe O'Connor said of the news in December 2021. "Typetec are one of these dynamic, innovative and progressive organisations, and we are looking forward to working with them as the rollout of our six-month coordinated trial commences early next year.”

Typetec will collaborate and share data with independent researchers from UCD and Boston College.

“We’re completely focused on creating and maintaining a great working culture and environment at Typetec,” explained Paul Dooley, CEO of the company.

“Long before the pandemic, we had introduced remote working for all employees, and this has proved to be highly successful with productivity levels and staff morale seeing a significant boost.

“As a company that specialises in workplace productivity solutions, we realised that a four-day week was an obvious next step for us," Dooley continued. "We held a town hall meeting to inform the staff and the reaction was so positive and there’s a tangible air of shared excitement as we look forward to next year."

Visit fourdayweek.ie for more information.