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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Four day working week works for Scots charities

This news post is over 3 years old
 

Concept means staff are more relaxed and less stressed

Support for a four-day week is higher in Scotland than the UK average with charities backing the move.

Research carried out by Survation, revealed that 63% of people across the UK back a four-day week – rising to 70% in Scotland.

That is higher than every region in England and Wales, and only behind Northern Ireland on 75%.

Glasgow-based charity Advice Direct Scotland, which runs Scotland’s national advice service advice.scot, introduced a four-day working week for all staff in 2018.

All 90 members of staff receive the same wages, while working fewer hours.

Employees are encouraged to talk about what they did on their day off, and the move has led to greater productivity and positivity in the workforce.

A cross-party group of MPs from Labour, SNP, Plaid Cymru, the SDLP and the Green Party recently signed an Early Day Motion calling on the UK government to set up a commission to consider the proposal.

Andrew Bartlett, chief executive of Advice Direct Scotland, said: “We are a people-first organisation, and we’re always exploring ways to improve the work-life balance.

“In 2018 we became one of the first major organisations in Scotland to introduce a four-day working week, recognising the positive difference this would make.

“This has undoubtedly led to greater productivity and positivity among employees, and we particularly encourage staff to share stories about the activities they enjoyed on their extra day off.

“It has been an incredibly busy period for us providing free advice at such a difficult time for so many Scots, but we ensured the four-day working week remained in place during lockdown and all staff worked from home.

“As businesses consider how they will operate in the future, we would encourage them to consider adopting a four-day working week.”

Joe Ryle, a campaigner with the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: “The four-day week is an idea that is gaining momentum across the world right now because people are reimagining a better future for themselves post covid.

“A four-day working week is a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t we want to be happier, healthier and at the same time – more productive at work?”

 

Comments

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Margherita Muller
over 3 years ago

I wish people would see this, especially charities where usually salaries are rather low and morale really needs a boost at this time.

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