For the past eight weeks, thousands of UK residents have been piloting a four-day workweek. They’re expected to maintain the same level of productivity and are being paid the same amount of money, but their hours are truncated. For many, the shift has been life changing. “I can really enjoy my weekend now because I’ve got my Friday for my chores ... if I just want to take my mum out for a walk, I can do that now without feeling guilty,” said Lisa Gilbert, a lending services manager at Charity Bank. She added that the new schedule has been “phenomenal” for her. Four-day workweeks have been piloted elsewhere, to resounding success. Iceland, for instance, conducted the world’s largest four-day workweek trial between 2015 and 2019, where 2,500 public sector employees worked on the shortened schedule. Researchers found no corresponding drops in productivity but did see a dramatic increase in employee well-being.