Four-day working week campaign is calling for workers to take action with their employers

4 Day Week Campaign, which pretty much does what its name suggests, has called on workers to take action with their employers to make a 32-hour working week a reality for all in the UK.

The campaign believes that we should all get a day back per week without a drop in pay as research suggests that 'productivity increases' with you shift down a gear to a four-day 32-hour week.

If you're worried that such massive change in working lives would be impossible, they remind us that the five-day week has only been a standard for the past 50 years and, before then, workers would toil for up to 90 hours every seven days - but fought for change and won.

Pixabay

According to the campaign, reasons to change include the fact that, despite working longer hours than our European neighbours, we are actually less productive overall.

Also, according to government statistics, a quarter of all sick days in 2018 were due to being overworked.

Research stated by the group also shows that when we are healthy and enjoying our lives we actually perform better.

A four-day week, they argue, would also help distribute the available, secure work to those who desperately need more work, reducing both unemployment and underemployment.

It would also help balance the gender inequality of unpaid work like childcare, caring for elderly relatives and domestic chores.

The campaigners called on their Twitter followers today (12 May) to donate to the cause.

Alternatively, you can follow a link to their resources to find the tools and information you need to organise a four-day week in your own workplace.

Advice includes first asking about any concerns and addressing them before implementing a trial, as well as finding successful examples of other companies which have reduced their working hours.

Cutting out unnecessary meetings and emails is also suggested - which is probably a move that would be welcomed by many.

This comes after 3,000 workers working for 60 companies started living the dream as their companies chose to continue four-day working weeks after a successful six-month trial last year.

4Day_Week/Twitter

Organisations that took part ranged from a brewery to a fish and chip shop, software developers to recruitment firms, all of which were guided by the non-profit 4 Day Week Global, the UK’s 4 Day Week Campaign and think-tank Autonomy.

From June to December 2022, staff had their working days reduced without any loss of pay in an attempt to find out the benefits of 'reduced-hour, output-focused working'.

Supervisor for Citizen Advice in Gateshead, Faye Johnson-Smith, was among the workers who took part in the trial and was granted every Wednesday off for the six-month period.

Speaking to the BBC, Johnson-Smith said the extra day gave her time to 'recover and recuperate', allowing her to return to work on Thursday 'ready to hit the ground running'.

Topics: News, UK News, Health, Mental Health, Business

Amelia Jones