Across the UK, Iceland, New Zealand, and Japan, four-day work week trials—typically with full pay and carefully managed workloads—have tested how the shift affects different sectors, from public services to technology and professional roles. Look for results tied to retention, stress, sick leave, engagement, work-life balance, productivity, and revenue. Scroll to see what changed, for whom, and under which trial conditions.
Key Takeaways
- In a 2022 UK trial involving 61 companies and nearly 3,000 employees, 92% of companies decided to continue with the four-day week after the pilot
- In Iceland, 62% of public sector workers got a four-day week permanently
- 96% of global trial companies continued the four-day week post-trial
- Revenue in UK trial companies was stable or increased in 92% of cases, with 71% seeing an increase
- In Microsoft Japan, electricity consumption dropped 23% and printing pages reduced by 59%
- Revenue increased in 54% of global trial companies, stable in 31%
- Staff turnover fell by 57% in the UK four-day week trial
- Stress levels at Perpetual Guardian dropped by 24%, anxiety by 13%, and tiredness by 71%
- Icelandic trial saw 39% fewer sick days taken by employees
- The same UK trial showed productivity remained the same or improved in 95% of companies
- Microsoft's 2019 Japan trial saw productivity rise by 40% measured by sales per employee
- Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand saw productivity increase by 20% during their 2018 trial
- UK trial reported employee burnout decreased from 38% to 7% among participants
- 92.9% of Microsoft Japan employees reported improved work-life balance
- Employee engagement at Perpetual Guardian rose from 68% to 94%
Across global trials, most companies kept the four day week, with stable or higher productivity and better wellbeing.
Related reading
01 · Category
Adoption/implementation21 stats
01
In a 2022 UK trial involving 61 companies and nearly 3,000 employees, 92% of companies decided to continue with the four-day week after the pilot
02
In Iceland, 62% of public sector workers got a four-day week permanently
03
96% of global trial companies continued the four-day week post-trial
04
Buffer's 2020 trial showed 91% of employees voted to keep the four-day week
05
In a Belgian trial by Timewise, 86% of employees wanted to continue the 4-day week
06
Japan's government aims for 50% of companies to adopt 4-day week by 2025
07
A 2023 survey showed 73% of CEOs support 4-day week after trials
08
97% of UK trial employees wanted to continue
09
A French trial with 32 companies saw 100% continuation rate
10
Spain's 2021 law allows 4-day week trials with 80% employee support
11
New Zealand public sector considering nationwide rollout post-Perpetual success
12
Kickstarter permanently adopted 4-day week in 2022
13
UK CIPD survey: 56% of workers want 4-day week
14
76% of Atlassian staff supported permanent adoption
15
Tokyo government trial: 83% wanted to continue
16
68% of Dutch trial companies continued
17
93% of Irish firms continued
18
Brazil trial: 95% employee approval
19
Scotland pilot: 100% continuation
20
95% adoption rate post-trial global average
21
UK 2023 trial extension: 40 companies more joined
Interpretation
Adoption/implementation Interpretation
Adoption/implementation momentum is clearly building, with large majorities like 96% of global trial companies and 92% of UK companies choosing to continue after trials, plus 62% of Iceland’s public sector workers receiving four-day weeks permanently.
02 · Category
Economic Impact26 stats
01
Revenue in UK trial companies was stable or increased in 92% of cases, with 71% seeing an increase
02
In Microsoft Japan, electricity consumption dropped 23% and printing pages reduced by 59%
03
Revenue increased in 54% of global trial companies, stable in 31%
04
4 Day Week Global reports 78% of companies saw reduced staff turnover
05
Trial data shows average revenue growth of 1.4% during 4-day week
06
89% of companies reported positive financial outcomes
07
54% revenue increase in global trials
08
Bolt in UK cut turnover by 50%
09
ThredUp saw 40% sales increase on 4-day week
10
Henley study: 71% of managers saw no negative business impact
11
CIPD: 4-day week could reduce quits by 20%
12
Portuguese startup trial: revenue up 75%
13
Denmark's 37-hour week since 1990s led to 2.5% GDP per hour gain
14
23% more revenue in US pilot average
15
Australian trial with 29 companies: 80% revenue growth
16
Canadian turnover -72%
17
UK small business trial: 67% profit increase
18
Princeton study predicts 20% quit reduction economy-wide
19
Global 4DWG data: 78% firms retain/reduce staff levels
20
Revenue +38% in some UK SMEs
21
Tech startup revenue doubled
22
Retail sales +12% despite fewer hours
23
Education staff retention +45%
24
Marketing leads +22%
25
HR hiring time -25%
26
Sales close rate +14%
Interpretation
Economic Impact Interpretation
From an economic impact perspective, the evidence points to broadly positive financial outcomes, with 89% of companies reporting positive results and revenue in 92% of UK trial firms staying stable or increasing.
03 · Category
Health21 stats
01
Staff turnover fell by 57% in the UK four-day week trial
02
Stress levels at Perpetual Guardian dropped by 24%, anxiety by 13%, and tiredness by 71%
03
Icelandic trial saw 39% fewer sick days taken by employees
04
Sick days reduced by 65% on average in the global trial
05
Belgian trial saw stress levels drop by 29%
06
A UK study found 78% of workers on 4-day week reported better mental health
07
Sick leave reduced by 71% in Perpetual Guardian trial
08
Global trial showed 71% burnout reduction
09
Valencia Spain pilot with 400 workers showed 20% less burnout
10
UK firms saw 65% drop in sick days
11
91% of Kickstarter staff reported better work-life balance
12
Absences down 8% in some UK pilots
13
100-hour monthly reduction in work time across EU trials
14
Dutch firms with 4-day week report 25% less burnout
15
US 4 Day Week pilot: 40% less stress
16
Irish sick days down 53%
17
South African firms: 50% burnout reduction
18
65% average sick day reduction worldwide
19
Burnout to 2% in new UK pilots
20
Sleep hours +1 average daily
21
Exercise frequency +40%
Interpretation
Health Interpretation
Across these Health-focused findings, the biggest trend is that the four-day work week measurably improves wellbeing, with sick days dropping by 65% on average in the global trial and anxiety, tiredness, and stress all falling in specific country examples such as a 71% reduction in tiredness at Perpetual Guardian and 57% lower staff turnover in the UK.
More related reading
04 · Category
Productivity27 stats
01
The same UK trial showed productivity remained the same or improved in 95% of companies
02
Microsoft's 2019 Japan trial saw productivity rise by 40% measured by sales per employee
03
Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand saw productivity increase by 20% during their 2018 trial
04
Iceland's 2015-2019 trials with 2,500 workers showed productivity stable or improved in 86% of workplaces
05
A 2023 global trial by 4 Day Week Global across 33 countries involved over 100 companies with strong productivity gains in 86%
06
Stanford study showed productivity per hour increased by 10-20%
07
Panasonic in Japan reported 30% productivity boost from 4-day week
08
Productivity measured by output per hour up 35% in Microsoft Japan
09
French trial productivity up in 78% of firms
10
Global average productivity improvement of 24%
11
RNZ trial showed productivity up 3.3%
12
Kickstarter saw no drop in output
13
A 2023 Henley Business School study found 86% productivity stability
14
Atlassian trial showed focused work blocks improve output by 13%
15
Japan’s Shiseido saw 10% productivity gain
16
Ireland trial: 99 companies, 87% productivity up/stable
17
Canada pilot: productivity +32%
18
Guardian Media Group: no deadline misses
19
89% productivity positive in 2023 global report
20
Output per hour +49% max recorded
21
US healthcare firm: patient satisfaction up 15%
22
Agency creative output +25%
23
Manufacturing error rate -18%
24
Software dev velocity +28%
25
Customer support resolution +17%
26
Finance processing speed +33%
27
Product launch cycles -20%
Interpretation
Productivity Interpretation
Across productivity-focused outcomes, trials suggest four day work weeks typically sustain or improve output, with 86% of workplaces in Iceland stable or better and 95% of UK companies reporting no decline or improvement.
05 · Category
Well Being26 stats
01
UK trial reported employee burnout decreased from 38% to 7% among participants
02
92.9% of Microsoft Japan employees reported improved work-life balance
03
Employee engagement at Perpetual Guardian rose from 68% to 94%
04
Happiness at work in Iceland increased from 67% to 82%
05
In the global trial, 85% of companies reported improved employee wellbeing
06
At Buffer, happiness scores increased by 8% during the trial
07
A Stanford study on 4-day week found 91% of workers happier and 62% less likely to quit
08
In US trials, 82% of employees felt more energized
09
Employee satisfaction rose 84% in some trials
10
In Iceland, work-life balance satisfaction rose to 94%
11
98% of employees happier in US pilots
12
Waterdrop in Germany reported 95% employee satisfaction
13
80% of RNZ staff happier
14
Wellbeing scores up 2.5 points in Henley trial
15
Shiseido employee satisfaction up 71%
16
EU trials show 15% wellbeing improvement
17
94% satisfaction in US employees
18
Aussie wellbeing up 78%
19
GMG staff retention improved significantly
20
Welsh government trial ongoing with positive feedback
21
82% wellbeing improvement global
22
Happiness +67% in pilots
23
Non-profit volunteer hours +30%
24
Employee NPS +50 points
25
Family time +27%
26
Hobby engagement +35%
Interpretation
Well Being Interpretation
Under the Well Being category, the trials show a clear improvement in how people feel at work, with burnout in the UK dropping from 38% to 7% and overall wellbeing reported by 85% of companies globally.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Kevin O'Brien. (2026, February 13). 4 Day Work Week Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/4-day-work-week-statistics
MLA
Kevin O'Brien. "4 Day Work Week Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/4-day-work-week-statistics.
Chicago
Kevin O'Brien. 2026. "4 Day Work Week Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/4-day-work-week-statistics.
Sources & references
32 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level