Work less, save CO2: How a four day working week can benefit the planet

Everyone loves a three day weekend, but what if that could be the norm for every workplace, every week? That’s the reality more than 5,000 British workers are enjoying, as increasing numbers of companies sign up to a four day working week.

The latest update from the 4 Day Week Foundation, the UK’s national campaign for a four day working week, shares that 200 UK companies have permanently adopted a four day working week, with no loss of pay for their staff.

Businesses are spread across a variety of sectors, including creative arts, engineering, recruitment, entertainment and construction. Fifty-nine of the companies are based in London, with the rest spread over regions of England and Scotland.

Studies have shown that working one day less a week can have far-reaching benefits for worker retention and health. But there’s a climate benefit to working less too.

Four day working week is good for our health and the planet’s

In a pilot conducted by 4 Day Week in 2022, 61 companies switched to a shorter working week, and the results were remarkable. 

Anxiety, fatigue and sleep issues decreased, measures of work-life balance improved, and there was a 65 per cent reduction in sick days. Almost all the companies (92 per cent) decided to continue with a four day working week following the pilot.

The businesses suffered no detriment, with some reporting even higher levels of productivity and profitability during the pilot. But what of the environmental impact of making such a change?

“We know that we’ve got to throw everything at the fight to tackle climate change but the benefits of a reduced working week have so far been largely ignored,” Joe Ryle, campaign director for the 4 Day Week Foundation tells Euronews Green. 

“Moving to a four-day week with no loss in pay for workers could reduce carbon-intensive commuting and give people the time to engage in more environmentally sustainable behaviours.”

According to 4 Day Week, research has shown that the UK’s carbon footprint could be reduced by 127 million tonnes a year through shorter working weeks. That, they say, is equivalent to taking 27 million cars off the road.

The 4 Day Week kicked off a new pilot in November 2024, with more than 1,000 employees currently testing how a shorter working week could work for them. It says it plans to run at least three new pilots in 2025.

What climate benefits could a four day work week bring?

Although there has not been extensive research into the climate benefits of a four-day work week, the information available is encouraging. 

A 2012 paper concluded that a 10 per cent reduction in working hours could lead to declines in various environmental markers. Specifically, it said CO2 emissions would drop by 4.2 per cent, the person’s carbon footprint would shrink by 14.6 per cent, and their ecological footprint would decline by 12.1 per cent.

More recently, Henley Business School conducted research with hundreds of UK businesses and thousands of working adults to determine what the benefits of a four-day work week would be. They found this simple change would reduce the number of miles driven by commuters by 558 million each week.

“With a three-day weekend, there are more opportunities for workers to exercise, spend time outdoors or do other things that improve their physical and mental health,” says Henley Business School’s Professor Anupam Nanda. “This in turn means less demand for carbon-producing healthcare services.”

Professor Nanda further noted that one day less in the workplace means one day less wear and tear on the things we use at work. That would mean computers, machinery, uniforms and other consumables would need replacing less often, bringing further climate benefits.

However, Nanda notes that the benefits will all depend on how those people use the three-day weekend. If they used the day to fly off for a short break, sit at home with the heating cranked up or take their sports car for a pleasure drive, fewer working hours could prove to be worse for the environment.

How does working a shorter week reduce our environmental impact?

Some benefits of not going to work are easy to see. Eliminating 20 per cent of the weekly commute comes with direct carbon savings, whether from a private car, bus, or train. But other savings are less obvious.

Pernille Garde Abildgaard, author of The Secret of the Four Day Week, shared an example of practical savings made through reduced working hours with Euronews Green. It involved a Danish company with around 100 employees, who drive around installing fibre networks at businesses.

She explains that, while they switched to a four day week, the hours weren’t drastically reduced. Rather than working 37 hours over five days, they began working 34 hours over four days. 

“What they found was that the extra hours in the days allowed them to reach four customers per day, whereas with the ‘old system’ they reached only three,” Abildgaard explains. “Now, everyone has Friday off, they save 20 per cent of their fuel and more customers are serviced overall.”

In the workplace, energy consumption will be naturally reduced if the building is empty for an extra day a week. Data consumption drops too, with no unnecessary emails being sent, and as big data centres consume huge amounts of power, that’s another win for the environment.

Studies by Boston College in partnership with Four Day Week Global found that a shorter workweek could actually be linked to an increase in climate-friendly activities like cycling and walking. 

“We get a climate benefit, and people get a well-being benefit,” says Dr Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College. “I’d like to see work-time reduction in the climate discourse in a much bigger way than it has been.”

Dr Schor says that other studies she’s done suggest working less can actually reset our cultural drive to produce and consume as much as we do. She believes that, longer term, this could lead to much larger climate-positive effects.

An example of that was seen during the 4 Day Week Foundation’s 2022 pilot. Waterwise, a UK non-profit that participated in the research, noted that volunteering among employees increased. In a similar trial in the USA, Kickstarter noted that workers became more socially and civically engaged.

So a four-day work week could have us feeling better, reducing our carbon footprints and generally being better people. Does that mean all businesses will eventually move to a four-day week? Probably not, but there are high hopes more will join this reshaping of the workplace to make it fit for the future.

“One of the easiest and most popular ways that we could tackle climate change is simply by working less,” says Ryle. “Moving to a four-day week is not just good for the well-being of workers but also for the wellbeing of the planet.”