Which days do you work or study? When do you have free time?
What do you usually do on a free day?
Choose: four workdays or five shorter workdays. Why?
Original, research-informed teaching text · A2
A new way to work
Many people work from Monday to Friday. They go to work five days a week and have two days off. But what about working four days and having three days free?
Some companies are trying this idea. Workers have fewer hours, but they get the same pay. A four-day week does not always mean four very long days. Companies often have fewer meetings and plan work in a new way.
In 2022, 61 companies in the UK tried a shorter working week for six months. After the test, 56 companies wanted to continue. Many workers said they felt better.
A shorter week can give people more time for family, friends, hobbies and rest. One person might go cycling on Friday. Another person might spend the day with their children.
But it is not easy for every job. A hospital must help patients every day. A shop needs people when customers arrive. These places can stay open, but workers may need different days off.
Now imagine your school or workplace wants to try four days. Would you like Friday free? Or would another day be better? How could everyone get the help they need?
This text is original classroom writing informed by published research,
not a reproduction of a newspaper article. Sources and dates are in the teacher notes.
Reveal each meaning, find three items in the reading, and use two in your own opinion.
Tap a dictionary link for examples and pronunciation from Cambridge Dictionary.
Before: Look at the title. Do you think the workers will be happy, unhappy or unsure?
During: Listen for two things: the number of companies in the UK trial and how workers felt.
After: Tell your partner one thing you understood. What would you like to ask a worker?
No video? Use the teacher's fact card
In a six-month UK test, 61 companies tried a shorter week without cutting pay. At the end, 56 companies wanted to continue. Some workers reported less stress.
Extra / Investigate the statistics
Compare working hours around the world
Open the interactive chart and discuss what the numbers tell us—and what they do not.
Data discussion: Choose two countries on the chart. Which has more working hours? Is that a surprise?
Real workplaces. Different experiments.
These are optional evidence cards for your discussion. Choose one or two; notice that
shorter hours, four workdays and unlimited holiday are different policies.
Iceland: public services (2015–2019)
About 2,500 public-sector workers tested 35–36 hours instead of around 40, with no pay cut. A report found that most services performed as well as before or better. This was not always a four-day schedule.
An English district council trialled shorter working weeks. Independent researchers checked real service indicators against past results; performance was broadly within normal ranges, with some services improving.
Microsoft Japan closed its offices on five Fridays in one month and measured changes to meetings and work patterns. Several changes happened together, so these numbers cannot prove that Friday closures caused higher productivity.
The technology company Buffer said its unlimited-vacation policy was underused: some staff were not taking enough rest. It introduced a three-week minimum recommendation and regular check-ins. Unlike a four-day week, this is about holiday policy—not a measured productivity gain.
