The British Society for Immunology (BSI) has opted to participate in the four-day week pilot for six months, starting on 4 November 2024.
The pilot will see participating BSI staff working Monday to Thursday, or Tuesday to Friday, ensuring full coverage of membership services across the week.
The BSI Board of Trustees approved the proposal to participate in the six-month pilot in July 2024, which will see participating staff members’ weekly working hours reduced from 35 hours across five days to 32 hours across four days. Evidence from previous pilots shows that shorter work weeks can lead to greater efficiency, with employees becoming more focused and productive during concentrated work periods as well as improved health and wellbeing.
“We are excited to offer this new benefit to those employees at the BSI who choose to participate, and hope that this will further enhance our working culture, providing staff with the opportunity to improve their work-life balance and making us an even more attractive employer,” said Dr Doug Brown, Chief Executive of the BSI. “Of course, it is vital that the quality of service we provide to our members is maintained, and we will regularly review this throughout the pilot to make sure we continue to provide the full coverage of offerings and high-quality customer service that our members rely on us for.”
The BSI will join other organisations in the sector, including the Royal Society for Biology, Applied Microbiology International, and the British Society for Rheumatology, in moving towards a four-day work week. Data from previous pilots run by the 4-Day Week Campaign have demonstrated increased productivity, improved staff wellbeing, and better retention and recruitment of talent.
By collaborating with the 4-Day Week Campaign and flexible working experts Timewise, the BSI will receive independent analysis of productivity and staff wellbeing during the pilot. It is hoped that these data can then be used by BSI Trustees when making the decision on whether to continue with the four-day week in the longer term. Additionally, data collected during the pilot will support research being conducted by the University of Cambridge, Boston College and the Autonomy Institute.
For more information on the pilot and data collected, visit the 4 Day Week Campaign website, and visit this page for our FAQs.