Tracker · 45 employers · checked October 2026
Companies with a 4-day work week: who has it, who tried it, what happened.
45 employers in 10 countries that have a four-day week, run part of one, trialled it or went back to five days, with what the big pilots found and where the law stands.
20
Has it now
13
Some staff or some weeks
5
Trial
7
Ended
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45 of 45 employers
Summer hours: 32 hours over four days, May to August
37signals, maker of Basecamp and HEY, cuts its week to 32 hours over four days every summer. Co-founder Jason Fried says the practice goes back more than a decade.
- Runs roughly May 1 to August 31
- Hours are cut, not compressed: 32 hours, not 40 in four days
- Support and other always-on teams arrange coverage
32 hours, four days, same pay
Scotland's Accountant in Bankruptcy ran a four-day, 32-hour week pilot from April 2024. Process times held steady or improved, but the Scottish Government decided not to adopt a 32-hour week.
Since Apr 2024 · ended Oct 2025
- Self-assessed mental health up 18%; work stress down 18%
- Pilot extended by two months to October 2025
32 hours, four days, same pay
Advanced RV moved all staff to a 32-hour week without a pay cut in April 2022. Output dipped at first but had nearly recovered 18 months in, and the CEO said the company would not go back.
Since Apr 2022
- One of few manufacturers in 4 Day Week Global trials
- No overtime used to catch up; customer wait times remain about two years
30 hours, Monday to Thursday, 75% pay, full benefits
In 2016 Amazon piloted whole teams, managers included, on a 30-hour Monday-to-Thursday week. Participants got 75% of full-time pay and full benefits.
Since Aug 2016
- Small pilot of a few dozen people, mainly in HR
- Core hours 10am to 2pm Monday to Thursday plus flexible hours
- No company-wide change planned
Results of the pilot were never published.
34 hours over four days, same pay (down from 37.5 over five)
Atom Bank let its 430 staff move to a 34-hour, four-day week on the same salary from November 2021. Most staff took it up, and the bank reported no decline in business metrics.
Since Nov 2021
- Voluntary; workdays lengthened slightly
- Monday or Friday off for most; operational roles differ
- Reported as the largest UK company to move all staff at the time
Production workers alternate four- and five-day weeks, no pay cut
Lamborghini and the FIOM and FIM-CISL unions agreed in December 2023 that production workers would alternate four- and five-day weeks. Unions called it the first European auto deal to cut hours significantly without cutting pay.
Since Dec 2023
- Two-shift workers: alternate five-day and four-day weeks, 22 fewer workdays a year
- Three-shift workers: one five-day week then two four-day weeks, 31 fewer workdays a year
- Office staff get 12 extra days off a year instead
- Company contract covers 2023 to 2026
Four days, about 32 hours, staggered day off, same pay (Flexi-Week)
Awin moved its global staff to a four-day week at full pay after a 2020 pilot, formally launching its Flexi-Week in February 2023. Day off is staggered so clients keep five-day service.
Since Jan 2021
- Public holidays count as that week's day off
- Company-reported: 21% fewer sick days and 33% lower regrettable turnover
- UK arm took part in the 2022 UK pilot
Four-day week, most Fridays off, same pay
Bolt trialled a four-day week in late 2021 and declared it permanent in January 2022, with its founder saying the company was never going back. In May 2025 a Bolt spokesperson confirmed staff are back on a five-day schedule.
Since Jan 2022
- Three-month trial began in September 2021 with most Fridays off
- Customer-facing and critical roles used adjusted shift patterns for cover
- End-of-trial survey: 94% of workers and 91% of managers wanted it to continue; 84% reported better work-life balance
- Listed among companies offering a four-day week at 100% salary in 2022
The exact end date is not public; insiders put it more than a year before May 2025.
Four-day week, usually Fridays off, fifth day optional overflow
Buffer tried a four-day week in May 2020 and has kept it since, publishing regular updates. In its April 2023 survey, every responding employee wanted to keep the schedule.
Since May 2020
- Fifth day is an optional overflow day, not counted as a failure if used
- 2023 survey of 53 of 78 staff: 100% want to keep the four-day week; 65.4% can finish work in four days
- Some teams, such as customer advocacy, adjusted schedules for coverage
32 hours, four days, full-time pay
Charity Bank joined the 2022 UK pilot and then made the four-day week a contractual right for all staff from their first day. It describes itself as the first UK bank to make the move.
Since Jun 2022
- Full-time role is 32 hours, usually four 8-hour days
- Most staff choose Monday or Friday off
- Customer service still covers five days
Optional compressed four-day week for policy departments
Chiba Prefecture planned a selective four-day week from June 2024 for staff in policy-related departments. Staff work longer days so total hours stay the same.
Since Jun 2024
- Core in-person hours of 10am to 3pm on workdays
32 hours, four days, same pay
Golden, Colorado, moved its whole police department to a 32-hour, four-day week without a pay cut in July 2023. The city extended the pilot in 2024 after overtime and response times fell.
Since Jul 2023
- Overtime spending down 80% (November 2023 data)
- Workforce satisfaction above 90%
- City planned to expand to other departments
Summer only: four 8-hour days with Fridays off, or shorter Fridays
Dubai's government runs Our Flexible Summer, letting entities give staff Fridays off in summer while keeping total hours. It was piloted in 2024 and extended to all government entities in 2025.
Since Aug 2024
- 2025 edition ran 1 July to 12 September; each entity chose whether to join
- Option A: 8 hours Monday to Thursday, Friday off; option B: 7 hours Monday to Thursday plus a short Friday
- 2026 edition ran 29 June to 10 September
40 hours over four days for salaried staff (You Do You Fridays)
Exos moved its staff to a four-day week in May 2023, with Fridays free. Wharton researchers and Adam Grant helped measure results.
Since May 2023
- Salaried staff compress 40 hours into four days; hourly staff can work 32 to 40 hours
- Burnout fell from about 70% to 36% (company survey)
- Turnover fell from 47% in 2022 to 29% at end of 2023
Optional 4x10 compressed for store staff
Uniqlo's parent Fast Retailing offered about 10,000 full-time store staff in Japan the option of four 10-hour days from October 2015. Staff still had to work weekends.
Since Oct 2015
- Expected uptake about 20%
- Aimed at retaining staff, especially women
No public update on the option since 2015.
Optional compressed four-day week, same pay
Hitachi lets about 15,000 employees work longer days Monday to Thursday and take Friday off with no pay change. It introduced the option in its 2022 financial year.
Since Apr 2022
- Workdays of 9 to 10 hours instead of 7 hours 45 minutes
- Hours can also be front-loaded in the month
Optional compressed four-day week under flextime
Ibaraki Prefecture lets most of its employees take an extra weekday off by working longer days, since April 2024. Teachers and shift workers are excluded.
Since Apr 2024
- Total weekly or four-week hours unchanged
36 hours over four days, same pay
ICE Group cut its week from 39 to 36 hours over four days with no pay cut in July 2019, one of the first Irish firms to do so. Staff work Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday.
Since Jul 2019
- Clients still served five days a week
32 hours, Monday to Thursday, same pay
Kickstarter joined the first US four-day week pilot in April 2022 and kept a 32-hour, four-day schedule afterwards. After a 42-day union strike in late 2025, protections for the four-day week were written into the union contract.
Since Apr 2022
- Flat 32-hour week for everyone, not 40 hours compressed
- Community support team expanded so staff can rotate weekend cover
- Company testimony (March 2024): ability to hit goals rose from 62% to 95%; retention from 82% to 98%
- 2025 contract: temporary returns to five days need justification and notice; permanent change requires bargaining
Employee Benefit News US Senate HELP Committee BoardGameWire Fortune
Optional 4x10 compressed for full-time store staff
Lowe's began offering most full-time store associates the option of a four-day week with the same hours in July 2022. The change followed complaints about unpredictable schedules.
Since Jul 2022
- Four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days
- Hours, and so pay, unchanged
Optional unpaid extra day off for caregivers and parents
Yahoo Japan has let employees with caregiving duties take three days off a week since April 2017. The extra day is unpaid, and about 100 of some 7,000 staff had applied by 2021.
Since Apr 2017
- Eligibility tied to child or elder care
- Not available for side jobs or reskilling (2021)
Yahoo Japan merged into LY Corporation in 2023.
Offices closed every Friday in August 2019, paid leave
Microsoft Japan closed its offices every Friday in August 2019 under its Work Life Choice Challenge. The company reported sales per employee up 39.9% against August 2018.
Since Aug 2019 · ended Aug 2019
- Full-time staff received the Fridays as paid leave
- Staff urged to keep meetings to 30 minutes and cut email time
- Productivity measured as sales per employee, a narrow proxy
This was a one-month trial; Microsoft did not make it permanent.
Optional three- or four-day week with reduced pay
Mizuho said in October 2020 that staff at six group businesses could choose a three- or four-day week on reduced pay. Reports put pay at 80% for four days and 60% for three.
Since Dec 2020
- Covers about 45,000 employees across six businesses
- Voluntary
Uptake figures have not been published.
Optional four-day week
NEC was among the Japanese firms that adopted an optional four-day week after the government's 2021 policy guidelines. It planned to start with about 20,000 employees.
Since 2022
- Pay terms not publicly detailed
Optional four-day week
Panasonic announced an optional four-day week in January 2022 and began offering it later that year. Uptake has been very low: about 150 of 63,000 eligible employees had chosen it two years in.
Since 2022
- Extra day can be used for side jobs, volunteering, or study
- Test launched October 2022 at Panasonic Holdings and Panasonic Operational Excellence for staff with 2+ years' service
- About 150 of 63,000 eligible workers opted in (2024)
Opt-in paid day off each week if productivity targets are met
Perpetual Guardian gave about 240 staff a paid day off each week in an eight-week 2018 trial. It made the policy permanent on an opt-in basis from November 2018.
Since Mar 2018
- University researchers found no fall in output
- Work-life balance scores rose from 54% to 78%
- Founder Andrew Barnes later co-founded 4 Day Week Global
Rotating staff groups; 80% time for 100% pay
Platten's, a Norfolk fish and chip restaurant, took part in the 2022 UK four-day week pilot by rotating two staff groups. Managers said staff were more focused and refreshed.
Since Jun 2022
- Groups work two days on while the other has two days off
Whether the restaurant kept the four-day week after the pilot has not been publicly reported.
Four-day week, Fridays off, same pay
Glasgow firm Pursuit Marketing moved staff to a four-day week at full pay in 2016 after a pilot with 20 staff. It reports productivity up about 30%.
Since Sep 2016
- Staff can work Fridays voluntarily for bonus pay
- Company-reported: sick leave near zero; job applications up 500%
One Friday off per month (payday week)
Since June 2023, Samsung Electronics non-factory staff can take the Friday of payday week off each month, agreed in wage talks with workers. It is not a full four-day week.
Since Jun 2023
- Staff must meet a 160 to 168-hour monthly working requirement
- Manufacturing workers on 12-hour shifts excluded
- Employees may choose to work instead
Four-day week for restaurant managers
Shake Shack tested a four-day week for store managers in Las Vegas in 2019 to help recruit and retain them. By February 2020 the test covered about a third of its 164 US stores.
Since Mar 2019
- Managers only, not hourly crew
- Software for tracking supplies helped free up manager time
- Recruiting reportedly rose, especially among women
No public update on the program since 2020.
Third Friday of each month off after 80+ hours in the prior two weeks
SK hynix lets employees take the third Friday of the month off if they worked more than 80 hours in the previous two weeks. It has run since April 2022.
Since Apr 2022
- Compressed hours, not reduced hours
Four-day week, same salary
Software Delsol moved its roughly 180 staff to a four-day week at full salary in January 2020, among the first companies in Spain to do so. It hired 25 more people to keep service levels.
Since Jan 2020
- Weekly hours cut from 40 to 36 in winter and 28 in summer (reported 2020)
- Absenteeism reported down nearly 30%
- Management reports 20% billing growth
32 hours, four days, same pay
South Cambridgeshire became the first UK council to trial a four-day week, starting in 2023. In July 2025 it voted 26 to 9 to adopt it permanently.
Since Jan 2023
- Staff do 100% of work in about 80% of contracted hours
- Independent analysis: 21 of 24 monitored services improved or held steady
- Job applications rose more than 120%; staff leaving fell more than 40%
- Faced a Best Value Notice from the previous UK government over the trial
32 hours, four days, same pay
South of Scotland Enterprise piloted a 32-hour, four-day week from October 2023. Staff very satisfied with work-life balance rose from 4% to 84%, but the Scottish Government did not roll it out further.
Since Oct 2023 · ended Apr 2025
- Psychological sick days down 26%
- Leavers fell from 11 to 7
- Pilot extended by six months to April 2025
4x10 compressed, offices closed Fridays
Utah moved about 24,000 state employees to four 10-hour days in 2008 under Governor Jon Huntsman. A 2010 audit found savings under $1 million, and the state returned to five days in 2011.
Since Aug 2008 · ended Sep 2011
- Essential services such as police, prisons, and courts exempt
- Energy use reported down 13%
- Ended by H.B. 328 (2011) and Governor Gary Herbert's directive
PLANSPONSOR Utah Legislative Auditor General Utah Office of Administrative Rules
Voluntary 32 hours, Monday to Thursday, with a pay cut
Telefonica Spain offered staff a voluntary four-day, 32-hour week with a pay cut after a deal with the UGT and CCOO unions. Only about 1% of workers signed up.
Since Oct 2021
- Pilot pay cut of 15%; later offer cut pay proportionally with 20% of the deduction repaid (about 16% net)
- Offered to about 18,000 employees in Spain
- Low uptake blamed on the pay and pension contribution cuts
About 32 hours, Monday to Thursday, for salaried staff
ThredUp moved its roughly 300 salaried employees to a Monday-to-Thursday week. Its distribution-center hourly workers are not on the four-day week but can choose flexible shifts across three to five days.
Since 2021
- Department heads cut meetings by about 20%; Tuesdays are focus days
- Hours can exceed 32 at times, with early calls to European teams
- Company-reported: over 90% of employees said it boosted productivity
Optional compressed four-day week under flextime
Since April 2025, Tokyo Metropolitan Government staff can take one weekday off each week by working longer days. Governor Yuriko Koike presented it as support for parents and Japan's low birth rate.
Since Apr 2025
- Total hours unchanged: 155 hours per four weeks
- Previously staff could take one weekday off per four weeks
- Parents of young children can also cut up to two hours a day (partial leave)
- Shift workers excluded
32 hours, four days, same pay
Treehouse ran a 32-hour, four-day week that founder Ryan Carson promoted widely. It returned to five days in 2016 around the time of layoffs.
Since 2014 · ended Sep 2016
- Carson later said it weakened his own work ethic
- One account ties the end to layoffs of 22 employees
Four-day week, same pay
Environmental consultancy Tyler Grange took part in the 2022 UK pilot and said it would make the four-day week permanent. Its managing director said teams designed their own approach.
Since Jun 2022
80% of time for 100% pay
Unilever New Zealand ran an 18-month trial where staff kept full pay for 80% of their time. It extended the trial and expanded it to Australia in November 2022.
Since Dec 2020
- Trial ran 1 December 2020 to 30 June 2022, monitored by UTS Business School
- Company-reported: absenteeism down 34%, stress down 33%
- Australian staff chose their own day or hours from November 2022
No public decision on making the trial permanent has been reported.
28.8 hours over four days, reduced pay, to avoid layoffs
Volkswagen and IG Metall agreed in December 1993 to a four-day, 28.8-hour week to avoid about 30,000 job cuts. The model was replaced in 2006 by longer hours.
Since 1994 · ended 2006
- Hours cut 20% from 36 per week
- Included a no-redundancy clause
- 2006 deal allowed up to 33 hours a week for production workers without extra monthly pay
32 hours, four days, same pay
Wildbit, the company behind Postmark and Beanstalk, began a four-day week as a summer experiment in 2017 and kept it year-round. CEO Natalie Nagele cited Cal Newport's Deep Work as the inspiration.
Since 2017
- No extra hours added and no salary cut
- Applications for open roles nearly tripled after the switch (company account)
Postmark was sold to ActiveCampaign; whether the four-day week continued for former Wildbit staff is not publicly confirmed.
What the biggest trial found: the UK, 2022.
61 UK organisations and about 2,900 people moved to a four-day week at the same pay for six months.
- Kept the four-day week after the trial92%
- Employees reporting less burnout71%
- Fewer sick days−65%
- Fewer people leaving−57%
- Revenue over the trial, on average+1.4%
0 of 27
US and Irish pilot companies planning to go back to five days (2022)
Fortune~70%
of workers reporting less burnout across 141 organisations in six countries (Boston College, 2025)
The Register86%
of Iceland's workforce on shorter hours or with the right to them after its trials
Alda / Autonomy4 of 41
Portuguese pilot companies that went back to five days (2023)
4 Day Week Global
In the US it's still rare: SHRM found 9% of organisations had a four-day week in 2023. Interest is high, though: 77% of US workers in a Gallup poll said a four-day, 40-hour week would help their well-being.
4-day work week laws: where they stand.
Belgium
Since November 2022, full-time workers can ask to work their 38 hours in four days. The employer can refuse in writing, with reasons. L&E Global
Japan
Government guidelines since 2021 encourage an optional four-day week. Tokyo's government has offered one to its own staff since April 2025. China Daily (bilingual news)
Spain
A €10 million fund pays industrial SMEs up to €150,000 to cut hours by at least 10% with no pay cut. The Local Spain
US Congress
The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would lower the overtime threshold from 40 to 32 hours. Introduced in 2024, reintroduced in September 2026, not passed. FOX19
US states
Maryland (2023) and California (2022) bills stalled. Pennsylvania's HB 884, a pilot with tax credits, is in committee. Legiplex
General information, not legal advice.
Running a four-day week? Stagger the day off.
Most teams that keep customers happy on four days stagger who's off, so every day has cover. Here's a team's staggered days off next to vacations on a live Forgot board.
- Each person's day off on their row
- Vacations and holidays alongside
- Days with too few people stand out
- Drag a day off to another day
Questions
Which companies have a 4-day work week?
As of October 2026, 20 employers in this list run a four-day week for most staff, including Kickstarter, Buffer, Atom Bank, Awin and South Cambridgeshire District Council, and 13 more offer it to some staff or for part of the year.
Do companies with a 4-day week pay the same?
Most four-day weeks in the big pilots are 100% pay for 80% of the time, with the same output expected. Others are compressed: four 10-hour days, or a shorter week with a pay cut.
Does a four-day work week work?
In the UK's 2022 pilot of 61 organisations, 92% kept it afterwards, sick days fell 65% and resignations fell 57%, while revenue held steady. A year later at least 54 were still on it.
Is there a law for a 4-day work week in the US?
No. A federal bill to make 32 hours the overtime threshold has been introduced and reintroduced, most recently in September 2026, but hasn't passed. Some states have proposed pilots with tax credits.
What's the difference between a 4-day week and a compressed week?
A true four-day week cuts hours, often to 32, at the same pay. A compressed week, like four 10-hour days, keeps 40 hours and just moves them.