At the halfway point of a six-month pilot programme of a four-day week in the United Kingdom, results so far indicate that the idea has been backed by an overwhelming majority of those companies taking part, with many already saying the move will be permanent. A poll found that 88 percent believed the trial was working ‘well’ for their business. Just under half (46 percent) of respondents said their business productivity had ‘maintained around the same level’, while 34 percent said that it had ‘improved slightly’, and 15 percent said it had ‘improved significantly’. More →

Around three quarters (76 percent) of UK business leaders are either unlikely or very unlikely to introduce the four day work week to their business, according to the latest quarterly UK SME CEO Confidence Index for Q2 2022 from Vistage. The study reports that the SME business confidence index hit 77 points, a 22 percent decrease since the last quarter. The index suggests that small and medium sized businesses overall feel pessimistic about the current economic landscape. 69 percent of SME leaders think that economic conditions have significantly worsened over the last 12 months. Only 5 percent predict that the economic landscape will improve over the next year, while 72 percent strongly believe that the economy will further deteriorate. More →

Over two-thirds of UK office workers would consider returning to the office full-time if employers covered commute costs, an Emburse/YouGov poll suggests. The survey of 1,000 British employees, of which 724 worked in an office, were asked questions around their new working preferences in order to understand what the ‘future of work’ looks like. Around 68 percent said that they would be likely to consider going into the office full time if transport costs to the office were fully covered. More →