A couple of quotes from people involved in the trial:

"The pandemic's made us think a great deal about work and how people organise their lives. We're doing this to improve the lives of our staff and be part of a progressive change in the world that will improve people's mental health and wellbeing."

"Sticking to a rigid, centuries-old, time-based system doesn't make sense."

It will also be interesting to see people's reactions to the ongoing debate about changes in the way we work. In my opinion...

• There is no one size fits all approach to improving the world of work. Clearly there are contexts where this is unlikely to be a good fit.
• For some organisations, this will probably work perfectly and have a positive impact for the business, people and customers.
• I think that it is important for leaders to be open to exploring new ways of working and adapting to take account of the environment we are now in.  
• As Adam Grant argues in his recent book 'Think Again' we need to think like scientists - using experiments to test hypotheses and adjusting our ideas based on the evidence produced by the trials.
• We need to avoid the polarised debate of "this is right or this is wrong" and expect simple solutions to solve complex challenges.
• We need to recognise that we may well need to 'unlearn' some of current thinking and beliefs in order to make space to accept new ideas.
• We also need to be open to the fact that whatever changes we make now, they probably will not be optimal for the future, as we continue to face turbulence and disruption. So we will need to be ready to adapt continuously.

My overarching view is that, if we can create environments in which people can be at their best, playing to their strengths and thriving together, not only will results come, but leaders will be achieving a vital purpose of helping people to live better lives.

What are your thoughts around the 4-day working week, and other changes to the way in which we work?