Tech firms in the UK are being encouraged to consider the work-life balance of their staff in a new campaign from the 4 Day Week Foundation, the UK’s national organisation championing the four-day work week.

Tech companies are being invited to sign up for a new, sector-specific pilot programme, due to kick off in May, which will see firms reduce their working hours to 32 a week or less.

The scheme will begin with six weeks of training and workshops led by experts and consultants, who the Foundation said have already supported hundreds of UK companies to successfully adopt a four-day working week, with no loss in pay.

The programme is set to include guidance on improving business performance and productivity, HR assistance, alongside help to implement a four-day week, with check-in consultations and troubleshooting for those taking part. 

Following the training period, participating tech firms will be encouraged to launch six-month trials of a four-day week starting from Monday 30th June, with each organisation supported in measuring the impact of its trial with help from the Universities of Cambridge, Sussex and Newcastle.

In January, the 4 Day Week Foundation announced that over 200 companies in the UK, had permanently adopted a four-day week with no loss of pay for employees, with twenty-four firms coming from the technology, IT and software sectors.

Among those is digital challenger bank, Atom Bank, currently one of the biggest four-day week employers in the UK with over 550 staff.

“Nothing better represents the future of work than the tech sector which we know is an agile industry ripe for embracing new ways of working such as a four-day week,” said Sam Hunt, business network coordinator at the 4 Day Week Foundation.

“As hundreds of British companies have already shown, a four-day, 32-hour working week with no loss of pay can be a win-win for workers and employers.

“The 9-5, five-day working week was invented 100 years ago and no longer suits the realities of modern life. We are long overdue an update.”

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In December, the results of another four-day week trial from Thrive, a learning technology company, and the University of Sussex, found that workers reported better health and well-being under the model, with overall wellbeing rising by over a fifth (21%), burnout and exhaustion dropping by 14.7%, and sleep problems falling by 20%, while the reduction of hours seemed to have no negative affects on productivity.

Applications to join the latest pilot are now open here.