Four-day work week could 'slash emissions' says UK campaign

LONDON: A study published in the UK has claimed that if the country switches to a four-day working week it could slash its annual greenhouse gas emissions by a quarter in four years.

The report by the 4DayWeek campaign group released on Thursday claims that a transition from a five-day to four-day week with no loss of pay "could shrink the UK´s carbon footprint by 127 million tonnes per year by 2025" or 21.3 percent.

This is equivalent to more than Switzerland´s entire carbon footprint, it said.

The proposal comes as the lockdown period with many more working from home has prompted greater interest in flexible working and work-life balance. Some companies have trialled a four-day week.

Greenpeace UK tweeted: "I think this is something we can all get behind!", while Green Party MP Caroline Lucas tweeted: "An idea whose time has come."

The report argues that a shorter week would lead to energy savings from less use of office equipment and less commuting in cars.

Shorter hours would lead to a healthier lifestyle, with less consumption of fast food and less need for medical care, reducing the use of energy-intensive equipment, the report argues.

There would also be a benefit to mental health, it argues: "By freeing one day a week for non-work activities, it is also mental space that becomes more available."

The report was commissioned by the campaign group from Platform, a UK-based activist and research group that campaigns for "social and ecological justice".

The 4Day Week group likens the impact to the transition to a 35-hour working week in France in the early 2000s. It also examines a sharper decrease to 32 hours by 2025.

Currently the average working week is 42.5 hours, it said.

In Scotland, the pro-independence Scottish National Party is also considering a shift to a four-day working week, with party leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying it would promote better work-life balance and higher employment.

The SNP government has vowed to help willing companies pilot such a move during this parliament.