However, that number has now ballooned to 195 and comes ahead of a huge worker's rights shake-up, which will allow most employees to demand a four day working week.
The original pilot, co-ordinated by 4 Day Week Global saw 61 companies across a variety of sectors in the UK commit to reducing their working hours for all staff by 20%, for six months from June 2022.
Most firms chose to give all their staff Fridays off, while some said they could take Monday or Friday, and others opted for no common day off among staff.
The results revealed a significant drop in the rates of stress and illness among the around 2,900 staff trying the shorter working week.
They also found that company revenue increased slightly by 1.4% on average over the trial period and by a much higher 35% when compared to the same six-month period in 2021.
However, several staff at one large company reported concerns about increasing workloads, finding their work intensified or they were battling to work through lengthy to-do lists in the time available.
The results also revealed that some managers and staff felt the focus on efficiency had made the workplace less sociable, which was a particular concern for the creative companies involved.
Autonomy - think tank researching the future of work
Awin - consultancy firm
BJP Consulting Group Ltd - engineering consultancy
Bake Consultants - ecological and ecoacoustic consultancy
Barefoot Architects - RIBA chartered practice
Barking and Dagenham Giving
Bedrock Learning - pedagogical technology
BiBO - social enterprise
Big Potato Games - board games maker in East London
Bimble Solar - renewable energy
Blink - Norwich e-commerce firm
Bookishly - literary-inspired gifts
BrandPipe - software and process engineering
Brett Nicholls Associates - accounting and consultancy
British Society for Rheumatology - healthcare
Brook - charity
Butcher Bayley Architects
CMG Technologies - 3D metal moulding firm
Camlas - public affairs
Causeway Irish Housing Association - non-profit
Centre for Local Economic Strategies
Centre for Thriving Places Ltd - not-for-profit
Charity Bank
Citizens Advice Gateshead
City to Sea - an environmental organisation
Civo - cloud provider
Coltech Global - tech consultancy
Common Knowledge - not-for-profit
Cooked Illustrations - communications studio
Counting King Limited - tax and funding consultancy
Crystallised - marketing agency
DataLase - photonic printing
DigiLab - digital analytics
Digital Guerrilla Consultancy
ESG Gaming - not-for-profit
Earth Science Partnership - research group
Elektra Lighting - lighting consultants
Element Four - environmental consultancy
Escape the City
Esteem Training - construction
Evolved - online marketing specialists
Flocc - marketing agency
FMC Talent - recruitment
Formedix - clinical trial software
Fortem People - recruitment
Forward Carers - not-for-profit
Forward Spaces - workspace for start-ups
Four Day Week Ltd - jobs site
Furness Insurance Services
Future Economy Scotland - think tank
Geeks For Social Change - software developers
Giant Digital - agency
Girling Jones - recruitment
Global Partners Digital
Good Ancestor Movement - wealth advisory
Gracefruit - Glasgow cosmetics firm
Greenpost - recruitment
Gungo Marketing
Happy
Hearfocus - healthcare
Hello Heat Pumps - heating specialists
Hello Stirling - media planning
Highfield Professional Solutions - technical engineering
Hutch Games - game developer
Independent Food Aid Network - food aid
Infigo - e-commerce software
Intercultural Youth Scotland
Interlink
JMK Solicitors
Jerba Campavans - campervan conversions
Kairos Women+
Kinfolk Network CIC
LEaF Translations - translation services
LIT Communication
LUX - food and drink agency
Legacy Events - events management
Lemongrass Marketing Ltd
Literal Humans
LoveGunn - branding agency
MATS Consultancy
MRL - recruitment
Maggie Chapman MSP
Marketing Signals - marketing agency
Melville Housing Association
Middle Child Theatre
Middleton Co-operating
Mox
Muckle Media - public relations
Mutual - web design and development
MycoPunks - mushroom cultivation
NEON - not-for-profit
Native Ecology - ecology consultancy
Neonhive - public relations
New Vision Digital Marketing
Noteworthy Support Limited
Opportunity Green - charity
Oriel Square - content publishing and strategy
Original Consultants Ltd
PR Dispatch - public relations
PTHR - consultancy
Pale Fox Esports - gaming
Paul David Smith Photography
Peak PEO - payroll
Pollard Media - digital marketing
Pool
Portcullis Legals - estate planning law firm
Porteris - tech
Pressure Drop - brewing
Principles Agency - marketing
Punch Creative - digital marketing agency
PureFluent - tech and translation service
Quality of Life Foundation - charity
Reboot - SEO agency
Red Giraffe - digital agency
Resilience Brokers - climate finance
Reward Agency - marketing agency
Richard John Andrews Ltd - architecture
SEOMG! - SEO
SOS
STC Expeditions - travel company
Stop Aids - HIV charity
Safer Fostering - not-for-profit
Scotland's International Development Alliance
Scottish Community Safety Network - charity
Scottish Greens
Secure Digital Exchange Limited - communications consultancy
Sensat - infrastructure
Shout Loud Social - digital marketing
Sidequest - VR content
Sinister Fish Games - board game maker
Social Enterprise Direct - finance firm
Social for Good - social media
Softer Success - consultancy and training provider
Sounds Like These - audio company
Split Banana - education
Stagecast - video production company
StreamGo - events platform
Synergy Vision - medical communications agency
T-Cup Studios - consultancy
TBL Services Ltd - consultancy
Tailored Thinking - HR consultancy
Talewind - content creator
Target Composites Ltd - bike manufacturing company
Target Publishing - publisher
Team Custard Kraken - indie board game designer
Technovent - high-tech medical services supplier
The Agile Communications Agency - communications
The Beacon - public relations
The Circle - hub for charities and non-profits
The UPAC Group - packing firm
The Young Women's Movement
Think Productive
This Is Beyond - creative events company
Thryve - tech consultancy
Time Appointments - recruitment
Tribera - content agency
Trigger - digital events
Tyler Grange Group Ltd - environmental consultancy
Uniqodo - promotion experience platform
Vault City Brewing - craft brewery
Venture Stream - marketing agency
Vetro Recruitment - recruitment
Villainous Games Studio
Waterwise
We Are Purposeful - feminist hub
Wellbeing Economy Alliance
Whering - digital wardrobe and styling app
Whyfield - accountancy firm
Women's Budget Group - think tank
Woven Ink Studio Limited - animation and creative studio
Xaso - digital marketing agency
Ynni Sir Gar - social enterprise
You HR Consultancy
Zettler - creative sector agency
Zync Digital - digital marketing agency
WORKERS RIGHTS CHANGES ON THE WAY
The government's UK Employment Rights Bill, introduced to Parliament on October 10, 2024, doesn't explicitly mandate or legislate for a four-day working week.
However, it contains provisions that are expected to significantly impact its adoption and implementation.
The key provision relevant to the four-day week is the Bill's focus on making flexible working the default.
Employees will have the right to request flexible working arrangements, including compressed hours, from their first day of employment.
This means employees could potentially request to work their full-time hours over four days instead of five.
While this doesn't guarantee a four-day week with reduced hours and maintained pay (as championed by the 4 Day Week Campaign), it does empower employees to initiate conversations about compressed hours and other flexible working models.
However, it's important to note that employers retain the right to refuse flexible working requests if they deem them unreasonable based on specific criteria.
These criteria include factors such as added cost burden, detrimental effects on customer demand, inability to reorganise work among existing staff, and negative impacts on quality and performance.
