University of Salford to lead €3 million international research project on four-day week

Researchers have secured €3.1 million (£2.7 million) in Horizon Europe funding to deliver one of the most comprehensive, cross-national assessments of working time reduction across diverse European contexts. In this project, working time reduction refers to companies implementing a four-day, 32-hour working week without loss of pay.

The study, known as Four4All, will focus on two key questions: what happens to businesses, workers, equality, the wider economy, and the environment when working weeks are shortened, and how four-day weeks can be made to work successfully at scale in different countries, industries and jobs. 

The project will combine large-scale data with real-world case studies, stakeholder insights and analysis of how artificial intelligence could shape future ways of working. It will generate evidence to inform EU and national policies, support employers and trade unions, and develop practical guidance and tools for organisations considering shorter working weeks. 

Four4All brings together nine partner organisations from seven countries, combining expertise in economics, sociology, occupational health, environmental science and public policy, including leading universities, research institutes and working time reduction consultancies across Europe and globally. 

The project is led by Professor Daiga Kamerāde, Professor of Work and Wellbeing and Director of Centre for Research on Inclusive Society (CRIS) at Salford, who is the Principal Investigator and coordinator of the international consortium. 

She said: “Shorter working weeks are moving from idea to reality across Europe, but there is still very little robust evidence on what happens when they are introduced more widely, and how to make them work in practice. Four4All brings together leading researchers and real-world evidence to help governments, employers and trade unions make informed decisions about the future of working time.”

Horizon Europe is the European Union’s flagship research and innovation programme and one of the most competitive research funding schemes globally. 

The University of Salford has been at the forefront of research on the four-day working week, contributing to the largest four- day week trial in the private sector, government-commissioned public sector pilots, and pioneering local authority implementation in the UK in South Cambridgeshire District Council.