A UK business has reported a rise in productivity of more than 700 per cent since it introduced a four-day work week - and it believes others will soon follow suit.
Reboot, a PR firm based in London which works with multinationals such as JustEat, reported a 702% increase in productivity since it switched to a four-day work week.
It said productivity was measured through a number of “high and medium-level metrics such as creative output, employee wellbeing, absence and client performance results”.
READ MORE: Four-day weeks: How do they work and how can Scotland implement them?
The news comes as a survey from IPPR Scotland reported that as many as 8 in ten Scots believe the cut to their working hours - with no associated cut in pay - would have a "positive effect on their wellbeing".
The survey found that still more people (88%) would be willing to take part in the trials of the shorter working week due to be funded by Holyrood.
Ahead of the Holyrood election, the SNP pledged to create a £10 million pot to fund a trial of the four-day working week, allowing companies to participate with no risk to their profits.
Shai Aharony, Reboot’s managing director, said a permanent change in working hours will drastically benefit employees’ health and wellbeing, whilst enhancing overall productivity.
Aharony (below) said: “In July 2021, the results of the Icelandic trial were published and what was particularly striking was that productivity had remained the same, if not improved.
“What was interesting from the Icelandic trial, is that a four-day week is not a revolutionary concept as more than 80% of businesses are already implementing this. It alleviated our anxieties and gave us the reassurance that this could work for us.
“Whilst a four-day week is not viable for some businesses, we’re fortunate to work in a creative, and forward thinking industry, and I believe other agencies will also follow this concept, as we’re very much used to adapting quickly, ensuring accommodating this change was an easy one. After all, the last 18 months has shed a light on a ‘new norm’.”
The IPPR Scotland poll – for which about 2203 people aged between 16 and 65 were questioned – also found that almost two-thirds (65%) believe a shorter working week could boost Scotland's productivity.
SPECIAL REPORT: Discussions under way for four-day working week pilot in Scotland
IPPR Scotland said the Scottish Government should expand such schemes to include more sectors of the economy, people working in non-office-based jobs, those who do shift work and part-time employees.
The think tank argued that unless lower-paid sectors were included in the pilot, along with those who may find making the shift to a four-day week more difficult, the trial schemes may not properly test the impact of such a switch.
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