We’re delighted to share the news that The Digit Working Time Reduction Team, led by Professor Brendan Burchell, have won the prestigious Outstanding Business and Enterprise Impact prize at the 2024 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Celebrating Impact awards ceremony in London on 20 November 2024.
The team investigated the UK’s largest trial of a four-day working week, finding benefits for both employees and employers. Their insights have led employers to continue with the four-day week and have attracted more organisations to follow suit.
The prizes are an annual opportunity to recognise and reward ESRC-supported researchers who have created or enabled outstanding impact. They celebrate social science researchers at all career stages whose work supports changes in practice, thinking or capacity with a positive impact on our society, economy and in our lives, in the UK and internationally.
Winners are awarded £10,000 to spend on further knowledge exchange, public engagement or other impact related activities.
ESRC’s Executive Chair Stian Westlake said:
“The projects featured in this year’s ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize 2024 demonstrate how social science can have a real effect on peoples’ lives both in the UK and abroad.
“They encompass some of the most pressing issues of our times, helping the victims of institutional scandals and potentially showing us the way to more fulfilling working lives.
“Together, they show how social sciences can inform the public debate and change the world.”