A six-month trial of a four-day working week is going to be launched in the UK, with around 30 British companies taking part.
The pilot is being led by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with think tank Autonomy and researchers at Oxford University, Boston College, and Cambridge University.
Supermarket chain Morrisons is thought to be considering taking part in the trial for employees in its headquarters, Metro reported.
In the trial, employees will work shorter weeks but still receive the same pay. They will, however, be asked to maintain 100% productivity over the four days.
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.
“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.”
The UK trial will be replicated in the US, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
“With the social and environmental benefits of the shorter working week becoming clearer, grassroots support more widespread, and technology available to maintain productivity, the time has come for more organisations to take the leap and unravel the practicalities,” commented Brendan Burchell, professor in social sciences at Cambridge University.
“This scheme has tremendous potential to progress from conversations about the general advantages of a shorter working week to focussed discussions on how organisations can implement it in the best possible way.”