UK employees wish to add Monday or Friday to their weekend

-

The majority of UK employees want a four-day working week with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday being the days they would most like to work.

Research undertaken by Viking, an office supplier found that more than half desire a four-day working week with 93 per cent wishing to work Tuesdays and Wednesday as well as 91 per cent wanting to work on Thursdays.

Monday and Fridays were the days workers wanted to add to their weekend the most. However, these employees do not necessarily want to work shorter hours as they are willing to trade longer days for a shorter week.

Get our essential weekday HR news and updates.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Keep up with the latest in HR...
This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is hidden when viewing the form
Optin_date
This field is hidden when viewing the form

 

Employees are happy to work:

  • nine hours on Monday
  • 10 hours on Tuesday
  • 10 hours on Wednesday
  • Nine hours on Thursday

 

More than half (60 per cent) of employees want to start at 8am. The study also found that the desire for remote working is on the rise with 59 per cent wanting access to remote working  each week.  Just under a fifth (19 per cent) would like to work remotely for at least 90 per cent of their contracted hours.

Over two-thirds of 16-to-25-year-olds (68 per cent) want remote working, compared to just over a half (54 per cent) of over 55s.

Viking said:

As the workforce becomes increasingly dominated by younger generations, remote working is likely to become standard practice, not just a perk.

On 23rd September 2019, the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, announced that Labour is planning to cut down the average time of a working week to 32 hours.

Mr McDonnell stated in a party conference that the next Labour government is planning to cut down the work week to 32 hours within the next decade.

Mr McDonnell stated that this would be possible to achieve with no reduction to pay and no job losses. He further stated that collective bargaining would be a tool utilised to negotiate working hours. In addition, a Working Time Commission would possess the power to suggest an increase in statutory leave entitlement to the Government.

Viking asked 1,677 full-time employees to obtain these results.

Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.

Latest news

Lucy Standing: Older workers are back in the centre of the hiring debate – ready to lead the response?

For HR leaders, the argument is simple: the people being filtered out of your hiring process are not past their best.

One in 10 women quit work after pregnancy loss, report finds

Research suggests inconsistent workplace support following pregnancy loss and maternity leave is contributing to resignations and poorer mental wellbeing.

Fear of becoming obsolete grips workers as AI reshapes careers

More than two in five workers worry their skills could become outdated as AI reshapes hiring demands and increases pressure to keep learning.

Ford rehires 350 engineers after AI fails to deliver

Carmaker says veteran engineers have helped improve quality, mentor younger staff and retrain AI systems after automated checks fell short.
- Advertisement -

Low harassment reporting may hide workplace misconduct, employers warned

Low workplace harassment reporting rates may reflect a lack of trust in reporting systems rather than an absence of misconduct, new research suggests.

Jennifer Liston-Smith joins Halo Workplace Nurseries board

HRreview columnist Jennifer Liston-Smith has joined Halo Workplace Nurseries as chief purpose officer to help develop its workplace nursery compliance platform.

Must read

Elliot Kidd: Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

The big retailers are gearing up for Christmas 2012...

Scott Walker: Ethically and efficiently unlocking HR’s AI potential

"Potential problems can be avoided if businesses take the right steps to introduce and embed AI technologies within their organisation."
- Advertisement -

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you