Four-day week under debate in the UK
While various studies tend to prove an increase in productivity and a reduction in stress by reducing working hours, British Conservatives remain resolutely against it.
Work less to live better? The debate continues to rage across the Channel, where seventeen companies have just decided to perpetuate an experiment conducted on 1,000 employees, reports The Independent . The liberal daily cites a study conducted by the 4 Day Week Foundation , which initiated this trial and advocates a 32-hour week without loss of pay. “Studies have shown that a shorter working week can improve employees’ efficiency and concentration. People are more motivated to complete their tasks and increase their productivity, “There is now greater recognition for flexibility and work-life balance, and this trial is a step in the right direction,” says Vicky Walker of Westfield Health, a specialist health insurance group.
Yet the detractors of this measure are not giving up. In the district of South Cambridgeshire, the council of elected officials has just voted to introduce a four-day week for public sector employees. This was all it took for The Daily Telegraph to become upset . The conservative daily recalls that the previous government had fiercely opposed this measure and is alarmed: “The four-day week could be
