Over 70% in favour of four-day working week

Research from comparison site NerdWallet has revealed that 72% of UK workers are either in favour or strongly in favour of a four-day working week. This follows recent news that firms are also warming to the working pattern at the trial’s halfway point.

Over 3,000 employees at 70 UK companies are currently taking part in a four-day working week trial run by 4 Day Week Global. The nonprofit organization wants to assess how employees react to working a day less in a typical week without a loss of pay, and the results of this six-month experiment could help shape how UK businesses operate in the future.

There is clearly an appetite for the working pattern, as NerdWallet found from a survey of 2,000 workers. Of the 1,310 people who said they worked 5 or more days a week, 72% said they are in favour or strongly in favour of a four-day work week. 

Employees are also confident in their ability to carry out their work whilst saving a day, as 60% believe they can do a five-day week in just four days. Women are more confident in their ability to do so (64%) than men (61%).

When asked what level of pay cut would you be willing to take in order to work a 4-day week, women were more likely to stand firm and still seek their full wage. Two-thirds of women (66%) said they wouldn’t take a pay cut to work a four-day week, compared to 56% of men.

When it comes to getting a job that offered a four-day working week, over half (53%) of workers surveyed said they’d need to move jobs to find a company that offered this working arrangement. Close to two-fifths (38%) were unsure whether they’d need to move jobs to work a day less, whereas just 8% said they wouldn’t need to leave their job, as their employer was looking to implement it.

Comments Connor Campbell, writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet: 

“It’s clear to see there is a large appetite for the four-day working week in the UK and it will be interesting to find out the results of 4 Day Week Global’s trial to assess whether this could be a wider possibility for employees.

“Workers in the UK are seemingly confident about their ability to work smarter, rather than harder, so employers may want to take notice of their workers’ needs in order to avoid potential resignations and moves to businesses that can accommodate shorter working weeks.”