Four days’ work for five days’ pay

For UK-based fans of long weekends, this May is a month to celebrate. Three out of five Mondays will be bank holidays, presenting many workers with a host of four-day weeks. Of course, not everyone will get the days off; others who do might find themselves working longer hours than normal on other days to make up for the time missed.

The 4 day week campaign would like that extra leisure time to be experienced by everyone, all year round. It argues that the conventional 40 hour working week should be cut to 32 hours – importantly, without reducing salaries. While this might sound like it imposes a heavy cost on employers, a recent trial involving 61 companies across the UK suggests that this is achievable without a loss of revenue or productivity – and with the benefit of lower employee turnover.