Sophie Greaves works with flexible start and end times at her research chemist role in Liverpool.
She can clock in anytime between 07:00 and 10:00 Monday to Friday and leave when her shift finishes eight hours later.
She believes the flexibility is good for days when you want to start later, or if you wake up early and are “twiddling your thumbs” at home.
“People really are productive if they can manage their own time,” she says.
Asda, however, shelved a four-day week trial last week after staff complained that their longer shifts were too demanding.
Under its plans, store managers worked 45 hours across four days. Other parts of the trial, which included working 39 hours across five days, were more popular.
Morrisons also abandoned the four-day week for staff at its corporate office in Bradford in January.
Staff were required to work 37.5 hours across four days with occasional Saturday shifts.
Responding to Morrisons’ decision, Mr Ryle said this was “not really a four-day week”, which he defines as 32 hours across four days.
Meanwhile, some companies are trying another direction. Earlier this month, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to boost productivity and economic growth in turn.
It only applies to businesses which operate 24-hours a day and is optional for workers, who get paid an extra 40% for the overtime they do.
Mr Ryle will present the results of this second trial to the newly-elected Labour government next year.
“With a new Labour government, change is in the air and we hope to see employers embracing this change by signing up to our pilot,” he said.
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