Almost three-quarters of UK workers are in favour of a four-day working week, finds a survey of 2,000 workers.
Some 72% of the 1,310 respondents who currently work five or more days per week were either in favour or strongly in favour of a four-day working week, according to the survey by comparison site, NerdWallet.
Employees are confident in their ability to fulfil their work duties within less time, with 60% of those surveyed believing they could do the job they do now in just four days. Women were slightly more confident in their ability to successfully work within four days (64%) compared to men (61%).
However, more than half (53%) of workers were doubtful that their employer would consider adopting a four-day schedule, meaning they’d need to move jobs to benefit from such an arrangement. Just 8% said they would not need to leave their job, as their employer was considering implementing the change.
More than 3,000 employees at 70 UK companies are taking part in a trial of a four-day working week run by 4 Day Week Global, which is assessing workers’ performance and work-life balance, among other indicators.
However, a separate study by recruitment company Reed of more than 2,000 UK workers found that people would rather have flexible working than a four-day week. It found that the phrase ‘flexible working’ on a job advert would most likely make workers apply, with 45% saying it would convince them.
A four-day week came in second (40%), with working from home third and the opportunity to progress further down the list.