More than 50 organisations collectively employing over 1,400 individuals transitioned to a four-day working week in 2025, according to new figures.
The 4 Day Week Foundation revealed that the total number of employees now benefiting from this model stands at over 6,000 across 253 accredited businesses.
The newly certified employers represent a broad spectrum of industries, including business, consulting, management, charities, technology, retail, housing, engineering, marketing, arts and entertainment, manufacturing, gaming, recruitment, heritage, healthcare, and education.
London saw the highest number of these new accreditations, with Scotland and the North West also showing significant adoption.
Joe Ryle, campaign director for the foundation, said the latest figures show that UK employers no longer have any practical barriers to making the shift.
“These companies are proving that there is nothing stopping organisations in the UK from moving to a four-day week,” he said.
“Across virtually every sector and region, employers are showing that shorter working weeks boost productivity, improve wellbeing and help attract and retain talent – all without cutting pay.
“The question is no longer whether it works, but how quickly others will follow.”
A total of 53 newly accredited organisations permanently adopted a four-day week with no loss of pay last year, the foundation said.
Researchers in the US found last year that working four days a week can help workers protect their mental health.
A team at Boston College said their landmark study had revealed the shift was associated with a high level of satisfaction on the part of both employers and employees.
More than 100 companies and nearly 2,900 workers in the U.S., U.K. Australia, Canada, and Ireland were involved in the study.
That included an improvement in productivity and growth in revenue, a positive impact on physical and mental health, and less stress and burnout.
A 2024 poll of more than 2,000 full-time U.S. workers found that more than half of respondents reported feeling exhausted from chronic workplace stress within the past year.
The main reason that employees had maintained productivity, according to their assessment, is that companies have decreased or cut activities with questionable or low value, including meetings. Instead, meetings became phone calls and conversations via messaging apps.
Another key factor was that employees would use their third day off for doctor’s appointments and other personal errands that they might otherwise try to cram into a work day.
The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, builds on previous research that has found similar benefits, and comes on the heels of a recent study that found long working hours may alter brain structure.
