Scotland calls for expansion of trials for four-day working week with same pay

According to a new survey, more than eight times in 10 Scots would support introducing a four-day working week.

The IPPR survey, which involved 2,203 people aged 16 to 65, showed 80% of those interviewed believed reducing their workdays would have a 'positive effect on their wellbeing'.

2,203 people between 16 and 65 years old were interviewed, of which 88% would be ready to participate in a pilot project.

The Scottish Government has set up a £10 million fund to support companies trialling a four-day week with pilot schemes being built in the aftermath of the pandemic.

But the think-tank argued that the government should expand the experiment to other sectors of the economy, to include non-clerical, shift and part-time workers as well.

The Commission argues that trial programmes would not be able to properly test the effects of this transition unless the lower paid sectors were included in the pilot, along with those whose transitions to a four-day week could be harder.

Two thirds of those surveyed (65%) said that they thought that a shorter weekly working week would help increase productivity throughout government.