Which jobs could change their schedules easily? Which could not?
Original, research-informed teaching text · B1
A shorter week, the same responsibilities
Many workers dream of having an extra day off, but employers often worry about unfinished tasks and unhappy customers. One possible solution is a four-day working week with fewer hours and no reduction in pay. It sounds attractive, but how does it work in practice?
In 2022, 61 organisations in the United Kingdom joined a six-month trial. Around 2,900 employees took part. Before the change, some teams studied how they spent their time. They shortened unnecessary meetings, improved communication and changed staff schedules. The aim was not simply to squeeze five days of work into four. Instead, teams tried to work more efficiently.
The results attracted attention. At the end of the trial, 56 of the 61 organisations said they intended to continue. In employee surveys, 39% reported that they felt less stressed and 71% reported lower levels of burnout, a feeling of extreme tiredness caused by too much pressure. These results suggest that shorter hours can help some people feel healthier.
However, a shorter week is not equally easy in every workplace. A software team might reduce meetings, but a café cannot serve lunch without staff. Hospitals and shops need enough people on duty every day. Smaller businesses may find it difficult to pay for additional cover. There is also a difference between working fewer hours and working four longer days.
Supporters believe a shorter week could help employers attract staff and improve their quality of life. Critics point out that the successful companies chose to participate in the trial, so other workplaces might have different results.
Perhaps the most sensible question is not whether everybody should work four days. It is how each organisation could test a new schedule while keeping its services reliable and treating its employees fairly.
This original classroom text is informed by published research. Follow the source links to explore the evidence.
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: Predict two benefits employees might mention and one concern a manager might have.
During: Note one result of the trial and one way a business needed to adapt.
After: Which result surprised you? How is the report different from the written article?
No video? Read the facts instead
A BBC News report described the six-month trial involving 61 UK employers. Researchers reported improved employee well-being; many companies planned to continue with the new schedule.
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: Compare two countries. What differences do you notice? Can you suggest a possible reason?
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.
