Lender Atom bank has said it is improving productivity and job satisfaction, through its four-day working week.

The Durham-based bank aid trial had been “overwhelmingly positive” for employees and there was no negative impact on customer service ratings.

The staff of the bank was given a choice to move from 37.5 hours spread over five days to 34 hours spread across four days for the same salary.

Sky News quoted Anne-Marie Lister, chief people officer at Atom as saying ”We firmly believe the four-day week is the future of working life and it is encouraging to now see the range of businesses across the UK embracing the four-day week trials.”

”We are a progressive bank and a progressive employer, and our experience in planning for and moving to a four-day week has shown that it is possible for businesses to do this and bring huge benefits to their people.”

“We believe most organisations can move to a four-day week and we hope Atom’s experiences will encourage more businesses to make the shift permanently.”

There was a 49 per cent increase in applications for roles at Atom in January 2022 compared to January 2021, according to the company’s research.

While 92 per cent changed the way they worked so they could get things done and enjoy the three-day weekend, 91 per cent of employees were able to do all the work required in four days.

Not only were there fewer days lost to sickness, but in their spare time, the employees either exercised, volunteered or simply shared more time with their children.