Four-day week on the horizon, a third of Scottish businesses claim

A third of businesses in Scotland expect the four-day working week to become a reality in the next 10 years, new research has shown.

The data has been revealed in a report called Four Day Week – Scottish employer perspectives of moving to a four-day week, by the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development.

The analysis is based on a survey of 2,000 employers – 144 from Scotland – and ONS Labour Force Survey data on people’s working hours.

It showed even though just 2% of Scottish employers who have not yet reduced hours plan to reduce working hours without deducting pay over the next three years, 34% of businesses north of the border think the four-day week will become a reality in the UK for most workers in the next decade.

The report, which will be published on Friday, said a majority of Scottish employers believe that a shift to a four-day week without reducing pay would depend on their organisation improving their efficiency and working smarter (63%) or firms boosting their technology services (68%).

Marek Zemanik, senior public policy adviser for the CIPD in Scotland, said: “The increase in interest in the four-day working week is understandable.

“The rationale behind the move is a positive one – to give people more leisure time and improve their wellbeing while increasing their productivity to compensate.

“The current trials, as well as the future trials planned by the Scottish Government, are a welcome attempt to plug the evidence gap, help provide insights for other employers that would like to make the shift to the four-day week and make a stronger case for the benefits.

“Some businesses will find such a move easier than others depending on their size and sector.

“The major sticking point is the need to increase productivity by 25% to make up for the output lost from fewer days of work.

“This came through in our findings with a majority of employers saying they would need to work smarter and adopt new technology in order to reduce working hours without cutting pay.”

According to CIPD analysis of ONS Labour Force Survey data, 30% of Scottish workers who responded said they would like to work fewer hours, but only 12% would be willing to take a pay cut to achieve this.

The analysis also found the majority of Scottish workers (63.2%) are happy with their working hours.

Other findings in the research showed the main drivers behind UK organisations that have already reduced working hours were to increase employee wellbeing (36%), decrease demand for products or services (32%), or to help with recruitment and retention (30%).

The report said 16% of UK employers have reduced working hours in the last five years, with 10% reducing hours without cutting pay, although in almost half (47%) of the cases the reduction in hours was due to the furlough scheme.

The biggest challenges for UK firms that had deducted hours were that new ways of working did not suit everybody in their organisation (32%), they were unable to achieve the same volume of work/outputs as before (30%) and that the task required someone to be present (26%).

Mr Zemanik added: “There are also challenges as the cost-of-living crisis starts to bite.

“People in certain industries may very well look to increase their hours to boost their income rather than look to reduce their hours even without a loss of pay.

“Greater flexibility in where, when and how we work has the potential to have an overall positive impact on working lives across many sectors.

“Businesses should continue to listen to their workforce, look at the evidence and consider how they can pilot new ways of working and achieve the win-win for staff of working fewer hours without losing pay.”

The new report is published amid rising interest in the idea of a four-day week.

In June this year, the think tank Autonomy, the Four Day Week Global campaign group, and Four-Day Week campaigners and researchers from leading universities launched a four-day week trial involving 70 firms and more than 3,300 workers in the UK.

The Scottish Government is planning to launch its own series of trials in early 2023, according to CIPD.