Vast majority of Irish people in favour of four day working week

Rory Fleming

Three-day weekend anyone?

According to a new study conducted by Hays Ireland, 95% of Irish workers would be in favour of a four-day working week, with the vast majority of those surveyed (81%) believing it will become a reality within the next decade.

These figures show the strong appetite amongst the Irish public to move to a four-day working week model, which aims to increase productivity and improve employees’ overall well-being.

The survey was conducted amongst almost 1,000 employers and working professionals across the country, with 973 respondents.

Sweden is one of the countries to have trialled a four-day week in the past. (Credit: Getty Images)

Four-day working week: Vast majority of Irish people are in favour of the switch.

Despite the model having been trialled with some success in Scandinavian countries, the percentage of Irish employers either adopting or trialling the scheme has fallen sharply over the course of the previous year.

Just 3.5% of employers are currently offering a four-day work-week to employees, compared with 6% for the same period last year.

However, the issue is clearly an important one in the minds of employees, with the study finding that 73% of them would consider moving to a different organisation to avail of a shorter working week, an increase of almost 10% on last year’s figure (64%).

Meanwhile, a meagre 5% of respondents said that they would not leave their current role if the option of a shorter working week presented itself in another organisation, while 22% said it would depend on the opportunity.

The three-day weekend has seen a marked improvement in employee satisfaction. (Credit: Getty Images)

Although just 3.5% of companies in Ireland are trialling a four-day working week at present, 88% of employees said it has had a positive impact on their professional life, finding a notable improvement in productivity.

Away from the office, 88% of respondents also found it to be beneficial to their personal life, sighting the increased rest period as a key factor.

Employers appear to be much more hesitant in their adopting of the policy though, with 51% of companies saying that they are concerned about the potential impact of a four-day work week on employee productivity.

47% of employers also noted that they would be unable to deploy such a work schedule, owing to operational reasons. A further 22% were also against its implementation due to financial constraints.

The hybrid working model has proved hugely popular. (Credit: Getty Images)

Hybrid working was another model which came out favourably in the study, with a staggering 55% of professionals stating that they would prefer hybrid working five days a week. This is compared to 45% who would choose a four-day week with every shift in the office.

“Since the emergence from the pandemic restrictions, employers have begun to reconsider the workplace environment”, said Maureen Lynch, operations director at Hays Ireland.

“All professionals have embraced these new ways of working with the four-day working week becoming the latest idea to enhance employers’ differentiation from competitors”, Lynch added.

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