A trial four-day work week trial has seen huge success for both employees and companies who took part in the project.
The trial was carried out by Four-Day Week Ireland, UCD and Boston college and saw 12 businesses take part. The study aimed to find out the financial, social and environmental impact that a four-day week would have on companies and their employees.
Nine out of the 12 companies said that they are going to continue with a four-day work week, with the remaining three saying they will implement it for now but will review it in the long term.
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Co-founder of Irish business Rent a Recruiter, Barry Frost, said that after partaking in the trial, the business will continue with the four-day work week as "it was a positive experience for us and the welfare of our staff."
Mr Frost said that the six-moth trial saw increased employee productivity and a better retention rate. "We were delighted to see that productivity per employee increased by 50 per cent,” he said. There was also “100 per cent staff retention compared to 20 per cent staff turnover in the six months previous to that."
Dr. Orla Kelly, an assistant professor at UCD, was the lead investigator in the trial Ireland, was delighted with the positive results. Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland, she said: "Some of the results for employees included decreases in sleep deprivation, increase in well being, increases in life satisfaction, less time stressed and better mental health."
She said employees used their extra day to "catch up on sleep, do life admin, spend time on hobbies and more time with family."
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Workers’ Rights, Louise O’Reilly TD has said that "the successes of this trial must be built on. There is scope for further research to trial a four-day week with firms in other sectors of the economy such as construction, agriculture, retail, and various public services."
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