World's Biggest 4-Day Work Week Trial , Has Begun .
The pilot program is taking place in the U.K. and will last for six months.
More than 3,000 employees across 70 companies will work four-day weeks while earning 100 percent of their salaries.
The intention of the trial is to discern how viable it is for employees to maintain current productivity levels... .
... while working 80 percent of the standard work week.
While employee advocates have called for rethinking the work week for years, .
Analysts say that the significant size of this trial is partly due to how the pandemic shifted the ways we work.
The pandemic [has] made us think a great deal about work and how people organize their lives, Sienna O'Rourke, Pressure Drop Brewing, via CNN.
Spokespersons for companies participating in the trial say their intentions center around employee well-being.
We're doing this to improve the lives of our staff and be part of a progressive change in the world, Sienna O'Rourke, Pressure Drop Brewing, via CNN.
Trials of this nature have been conducted before, .
Notably in Iceland where the results showed no drop in productivity and an increase in employee satisfaction.
According to the CEO of the 4-Day Week U.K. Campaign, subsequent trials will occur this year in both Scotland and Spain.
As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognizing that the new frontier for competition is quality of life, , Joe O'Connor, 4-Day Week Global CEO, via CNN.
... and that reduced-hour, output-focused working is the vehicle to give them a competitive edge, Joe O'Connor, 4-Day Week Global CEO, via CNN
