Rise to Trial Four-Day Working Week

Leading North East health and wellbeing charity Rise, is taking part in a six-month flexible working experiment.  

The charity, which is based in North Tyneside and currently employs 24 people, is joining the ‘4 Day Week National Roll Out Programme 2023’ from Monday 12 June 2023.  

Employees will work 30 hours per week between Monday to Thursday, rather than the traditional 37 hours format from Monday-to-Friday.  

The trial is run by the UK think tank Autonomy in partnership with the 4 Day Week campaign. This way of working has been strongly evidenced through a recent 6-month national trial with more than 70 businesses and 2,900 employees across the UK.  

Its research found that working reduced hours maintained productivity and boosted employee wellbeing, leading to 92% of business participants opting to either extend the trial or to adopt a four-day working week permanently.  

Rise, which is part of a network of 43 Active Partnerships across the country, is continually looking for ways to lead the way in protecting and enhancing physical and mental health.  

CEO Clare Morley of Rise explains: “We are excited to be taking part in this trial. We strongly believe in our employees’ health and wellbeing and have spent considerable time looking at the benefits a four-day working week brings to an organisation and its people.  

“We passionately believe that a four-day week with no change to salary or benefits will create a happier workforce and will have an equally positive impact on our productivity, partner experience and our purpose as a charity. 

“We see this as a positive step towards a more modern way of working, one that supports our culture of putting wellbeing first, making sure everybody is rested and has a good work-life balance.” 

Kyle Lewis, Co-Director of Autonomy, said: "It's been great to work with such a wide range of organisations across the UK who are embracing the four-day week as a way of supporting their employees' wellbeing. 

“From our experience, the four-day week with no loss of pay improves productivity, and can be a win-win for both workers and employers. 

"It seems more and more inevitable that the four-day week is going to be the future of work and not-for-profits like Rise should be congratulated for leading the way."