A four-day working week is being trialled throughout the UK with 70 firms taking part.
Organisers say it is the biggest four-day week pilot to take place anywhere in the world.
However, two companies that have offices based in Derry have already adopted the 'new way of working' for over two years.
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JMK Solicitors and CRASH, are based in Belfast and Newry but recently opened offices in Derry. JMK Solicitors are Personal Injury Specialists, while CRASH is a leading independent accident management company.
The two companies now offer employees 80% of the workload while offering full pay, having begun a trial in 2018.
Jonathan McKeown, CEO of CRASH and Chairman of JMK Solicitors, said he wanted to give his staff the 'gift of time'.
He said: “We have over 150 employees across both businesses, who our customers and clients rely on in a time of crisis.
"We wanted to ensure they have the right work-life balance to be able to perform at their best in stressful situations. When we launched the two-year research project in the summer of 2018, there was real excitement within the team.
"We have been in operation at CRASH for over 25 years, and over 18 years with JMK and we wanted to take a leading role in offering our employees the gift of time, which is the greatest gift we and any employer can give to their team.
"Staff wellbeing has also never been as important than the last few years, and especially with the challenges that Covid-19 brought, we knew that having more free time to spend with family and friends is something employees want more of and benefit from in many ways.
"We have always had very low levels of staff turnover but we never want to be complacent.
"We feel that with increased automation, reduced hours will be considered by more employers, particularly in the current climate where it is imperative for many businesses to find out expedient ways to carry out work.
"We wanted to take a leading role and are happy to share our experiences with others.”
Meanwhile, Michelle Murphy, who is Head of Operations and HR at CRASH Services and JMK Solicitors said the decision had made the business more efficient.
“Flexibility, homeworking and utilising technology were already a mainstay of our working practices, so we were able to adapt quickly to the challenging environment in 2020 and the introduction of the 4-day work week," she said.
"This project was not necessarily about reducing everyone to a four-day week. It might suit others to work their hours over five shorter days and if that’s what a staff member wants, we will try to accommodate them."
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