Hey friends—Ethan here. If you’ve been following the flexible-work movement, you already know the four-day week has moved from fringe experiment to serious board-room agenda item. But the newest results out of the United Kingdom just cranked up the volume: companies in the 2024/25 trial not only kept productivity intact—revenue rose by an average of 1.4% while sick days dropped 65%. That’s a double win most CFOs would tattoo on their spreadsheets. Source
Why This Matters (Beyond Cool Headlines)
For decades we’ve accepted the five-day, 40-hour template as untouchable. Yet time-use research shows our peak cognitive hours hover around four truly productive hours per day. The rest gets muddled by context-switching, interruptions and zombie meetings. By condensing the week, UK pilot firms forced a ruthless focus on what actually moves the needle—and the metrics rewarded them. Source
The Hard Numbers in 60 Seconds
- Revenue: +1.4% average across reporting companies (some hit double-digit growth). Source
- Sick Days: 65% decline—fewer Monday-morning “mystery colds,” more energized Mondays. Source
- Turnover: Employee attrition down 57%; talent sticks where life feels sustainable. Source
- Companies Keeping It: 92% extended the policy; 30% locked it in permanently. Source
- Public-Sector Proof: South Cambridgeshire Council saved £370 K and sped up service KPIs in 22 of 24 areas. Source
How the Winners Pulled It Off
1. Ruthless Meeting Surgery
Participants slashed standing meetings by almost half, defaulting to 15-minute huddles and async updates. Try it: audit your calendar every Friday—if the meeting lacks a decision agenda or clear deliverable, cut or convert it to an update video.
2. Output-First, Hours-Second Culture
Leaders shifted performance reviews toward KPIs shipped, not presence logged. When Friday disappeared, vanity time was exposed. Build micro-scorecards for your team: 3–5 weekly deliverables that directly map to quarterly objectives.
3. Guardrails, Not Free-for-Alls
Firms paired the shorter week with explicit “deep-work windows.” For example, no meetings after 2 p.m. or before 11 a.m., leaving contiguous blocks for focus. Block your own “maker time” in bold color on the calendar—protect it like revenue.
4. Tech Hygiene & Automation
Small process tweaks—shared templates, keyboard shortcuts, AI-assisted draft writing—shaved minutes that compound into hours. Start by listing the top three repetitive tasks your team does weekly and automate one of them this month.
Action Steps You Can Steal Monday
You don’t need policy approval to taste the benefits:
- Micro-experiment: Pick one department, run a 90-day “Friday-free” sprint with explicit output goals.
- Async First: Flip one recurring meeting into a shared doc with comments & deadlines. Measure response time vs. the old live call.
- No-Slack Zones: Institute two daily 60-minute notification-free blocks. Watch deep-work velocity rise.
- Energy Audit: Have each teammate log tasks that drain vs. fuel them for a week—then redistribute where possible.
- Pulse Survey: Track stress, focus and perceived productivity at week 0, 30 and 60. Data wins budget debates.
What This Signals for the Future of Work
With 200 UK companies already switching permanently—and a Labour government openly supportive—momentum is real. Picture the competitive pressure when job seekers start filtering listings by “four-day friendly.” My advice: pilot now while you can do it on your terms; waiting could mean playing catch-up with compensation or sign-on gimmicks later. Source
Final Take
The four-day week isn’t a fluffy perk; it’s a strategic lever. The latest UK data shows you can grow revenue and human sustainability simultaneously. That’s the future I want for every high-performing team I coach—and the future you can start prototyping next week. Let’s build it.
