Most people support shift to a four day week

A new poll claims that a significant majority of voters who supported the new Labour government are in favour of transitioning the UK to a shorter working week. According to data collected by Survation and commissioned by The Autonomy Institute, 72 percent of Labour voters back the idea of a four-day work week. The survey, which included responses from 2,048 adults, specifically asked whether participants would support a government initiative to move towards a shorter working week, with no loss of pay, by the year 2030.

The proposal for a four-day work week appears to have substantial support across the political spectrum. Among those who voted for Reform UK, 59 percent expressed their support for the initiative. Additionally, 66 percent of Labour voters are in favour of expanding trials across the public sector to test the feasibility of a reduced working week. This comes on the heels of a successful four-day week trial by South Cambridgeshire District Council, which became the first UK council to experiment with this working model.

Advocates for the four-day work week are gaining momentum, with campaigners and organizations recently announcing a second major UK pilot set to launch in the autumn. Previous research has shown that businesses participating in the last large-scale pilot in 2022 saw improvements in performance, productivity, and employee well-being. Notably, a study by The Autonomy Institute found that 54 of the 61 companies involved in the 2022 pilot have continued with the four-day week a year and a half later.

The push for a shorter working week has also gained institutional backing. In June, UNISON, the UK’s largest union, officially endorsed the four-day work week at its national conference. Delegates passed a motion calling on the next government to take action to encourage more employers to adopt this innovative approach to work.

Will Stronge, director of research at The Autonomy Institute, emphasized the widespread public support for such a policy. “Our polling shows that if Keir Starmer were to move ahead with policies to enable the country to transition to a four-day working week, he would have the support of vast swathes of the UK population,” Stronge said. He also noted that UK workers currently endure some of the longest full-time hours in Europe, with no significant reduction in working hours since the 1980s. “Labour’s New Deal for Working People is a good start, but what is absent is a serious plan around working time reduction: if the priority is health, decent working conditions, and business innovation, this needs to be part of the programme,” Stronge added.

Peter Dowd, Labour MP for Bootle, echoed these sentiments, expressing strong support for Labour’s New Deal for Working People while calling for policies that further reduce working hours. “After decades of working some of the longest hours in Europe, British workers are burnt out, overworked, and in desperate need of a break,” Dowd said. He argued that a four-day week with no loss of pay would not only enhance workers’ work-life balance but also improve productivity.