A recent poll has found that nearly two thirds of the public, including 55% of Conservative voters, want Boris Johnson to pilot a four-day working week with no loss of pay for workers
According to a new poll by Survation, 64% would support the Government piloting a four-day week across the UK with only 13% opposed to the idea.
The poll, commissioned by the 4 Day Week Campaign, comes following Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that the Scottish Government will launch a pilot of the four-day week in Scotland to find out if it would improve work-life balance.
The results of the poll show that support for a four-day week in the UK has grown since the Covid pandemic after global giant Unilever announced a year-long trial and the Government’s of Spain and Scotland announced national level pilot schemes.
“The four-day week with no loss of pay is a win-win for workers and employers”, says Joe Ryle, a campaigner with the 4 Day Week Campaign. “The time has come to wave goodbye to the outdated 9-5, 5 days a week model and it’s in nobody’s interests to go back to the old ways of working after the pandemic.”
“Spain and Scotland have both recognised that the four-day week represents the future when it comes to changing working patterns and Boris Johnson should follow their lead.”
Numerous studies have shown that a four-day week with no loss of pay is achievable through greater productivity. When Microsoft in Japan trialled it in 2019, productivity jumped by 40%.
“The polling on a four-day week consistently shows that support has grown since Covid”, adds Carl Shoben, Director of Strategic Communications at Survation. “It looks like the pilots announced in Scotland and Spain alongside Furlough and Rishi Sunak’s Shorter Hours Scheme have helped to move the four-day week away from being a pipe-dream to a realistic prospect for the future.”
Read about the benefits of the 4-day working week in OnOffice Summer 2021 (155), The Home Issue here
Image by Roman Koester, Unsplash
