When a regional freight company moved its warehouse teams to a four-day week, managers expected higher costs and slower deliveries. Twelve months later, neither happened.

Absences fell by a third, staff turnover halved, and the company now receives more applications than it can process.

Rethinking the rota

The shift pattern relies on longer, better-planned days and overlapping crews on peak afternoons. Workers say the extra day off matters more than the longer hours.

“The trucks don’t care what day it is. People do.”

Copycats and caution

Three competitors have launched pilots. Economists warn that results may differ in firms with thinner margins, but concede the early data is hard to ignore.