The four day week is here to stay at The Humane League UK

And the results are in. We’re really pleased to say that our trial has been a success on all fronts, so as of July 2025, The Humane League UK is officially moving to a four day work week - permanently.

How did we do it?

Being effective is a principle that guides all of our work. So in order to develop and assess the trial, we chose a series of metrics to enable us to measure its effect on our goals, employee wellbeing and productivity, and workload. Over a nine-month period, our team had a higher percentage of successfully-achieved goals (93%) than during the equivalent five-day period the year before (80%). These goals were set before the pilot began, with no adjustment in expectations. Stress scores have reduced to their lowest levels since we began tracking them. The risk of burnout dropped significantly across three of four key indicators. And our team members report feeling far more productive and engaged than during a five day week:

“

It has fundamentally changed the way I approach my work. I'm now absolutely laser focused in what I need to achieve and when… It's not that I wasn't doing this before, but I find that the 4 day week has really solidified a way of working that makes me more productive in less time.

~ THL UK Team member

Another team member shared that the extra day allowed them to contribute more widely to the animal movement through volunteering. Others have used their time to manage long-term health conditions, care for loved ones, or simply rest more deeply - each of which helps them show up better in their work for animals.

Of course, we’re a mission-first organisation - and our supporters, partners, and the animals we fight for need us to be responsive and reliable. That hasn’t changed. We have systems in place to ensure that we can react and respond when we need to. Crucially, we’ve had no reported negative effects from supporters or on our work with key partners.

As an organisation and movement, we’re tackling horrific animal abuse, day in, day out. Building a resilient workplace that supports long-term sustainability is essential. We believe a shorter working week can be part of that - not to mention, enabling us to attract and retain talented team members.

So we’re really glad that the four day week is here to stay - enabling us to show up ever stronger in the fight to create a better word for animals.

From our experience developing the trial, I know just how useful it was to be able to hear from other organisations who had implemented a four day week. With that in mind, here’s an overview of our own process.

How we developed and ran the trial

• Our very first step was getting preliminary approval from our Board of Trustees to develop a proposal for a trial.
• Once they agreed, we formed a cross-departmental working group with members from each team, aiming to represent a variety of characteristics such as caring responsibilities, seniority, length of service and more.
• The working group split into three subcommittees: 1) Metrics, 2) Internal research, and 3) External research.
• The metrics subcommittee looked at how we could measure the trial, assessing a breadth of different options and presenting back to the group.
• The internal research subcommittee ran a staff survey to find out what team members wanted from the trial - for example, more free time for creative pursuits, or caring for a family member, as well as understanding any preferences for working patterns.
• And the external research subcommittee gathered insights from other organisations who had run trials or were operating on a four day week that we could model ourselves on.
• Armed with this information, we spent several sessions discussing and developing the trial, grappling with key questions such as ‘Will everyone be off on the same day, or will it be staggered?’ and ‘How will we ensure we have coverage for urgent requests?’
• We were then ready to develop the proposal that went to our Senior Leadership Team and the Board, with an in-depth overview of how we planned to measure the trial and a provision for a possible extension if we needed more time to understand what the metrics told us.
• Alongside this, each department spent time reflecting on possible impacts of the trial on each of their roles and how we could mitigate any risks.
• Our Board approved the trial, and we were ready to get started. Our Ops team ran monthly and quarterly surveys to gather feedback and the results of our trial metrics.
• Finally, at the 9 month mark, with data showing consistently positive results across time, we submitted our Board proposal to make the move permanent - and succeeded.

Ultimately, we’ve found that there isn’t a one-size-fits all approach to this that works for all organisations - it very much depends on your individual context and needs. Having those discussions is essential in discovering what model works best for you.

Throughout it all, our ‘why’ remained the same: ending the abuse of animals raised for food, in the most effective way we can. Seeing the positive impacts on the wellbeing of our team members has been immensely rewarding.

If you’d like to discuss the trial in more detail, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.