LONDON: It was the first time that it was working from home. It is the four-day working week that has shaken business life in ways that would have seemed unthinkable before COVID- 19.
That is what you might think from the headlines of the past few weeks. Last Tuesday, it was The Landmark London, a swish hotel in Marylebone, that said it would give a four-day week, on higher pay, to its chefs.
A British division of Japan s Canon camera company said the company was considering a four-day week pilot for its 140 odd staff and UK think tanks said they were recruiting companies for a six month trial of the concept.
A four-day option for staff is being offered by Canon's Japanese rival, Panasonic, less than two weeks ago.
Before that a shorter week was being tested, planned or launched everywhere from the United Kingdom's Atom Bank to Unilever's New Zealand offices in Iceland, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
The four-day working week is a long way from being rampant, but four-day fans should hold on to champagne, because new UK research shows that, as things stand, the four-day working week is a long way from being rampant.