Up to 95% of Irish professionals would favour a four-day working week, despite fewer workplaces offering the option than last year.
The number of workplaces that have either implemented or are trialling a four-day working week has dropped from 6% in 2022 to 3.5%in 2023, according to a survey by Hays Ireland.
The leading recruiter surveyed almost 1,000 (973) employers and professionals across Ireland.
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It found that 73% of would consider moving to a different organisation to avail of a shorter working week, a rise of almost 10% on last year’s figure (64%).
Just 5% said they would not leave their current role if the option presented itself in another organisation, while 22% said it would depend on the opportunity.
The vast majority at 81% thought the four-day working week will become a reality within the next decade.
With only 19% of the opinion that it will never come into being.
Amongst companies in Ireland to trial a four-day working week, 88% of employees said it has had a positive impact on their professional life.
The same number found it was beneficial to their personal life.
However, approximately half (51%) of all employers are concerned about its potential impact on productivity.
Almost the same number (47%) said they were not prepared to switch to a four-day week for operational reasons.
While 22% said they couldn’t consider it for financial reasons and 20% of employers were concerned the change could increase pressure on staff.
Meanwhile, the option of hybrid working five days a week is preferred to working four days with every shift in the office.
Up to 55% of professionals would prefer hybrid working five days a week. This is compared to 45% who would choose a four-day week with every shift in the office.
Maureen Lynch, operations director at Hays Ireland said: “Since the emergence from the pandemic restrictions, employers have begun to reconsider the workplace environment.
“The switch to remote and hybrid working models has proven hugely successful.
“All professionals have embraced these new ways of working with the four-day working week becoming the latest idea to enhance employers’ differentiation from competitors.
“For some employers, this means reducing the number of hours in the traditional 40-hour working week, for others, it means compressing 40 hours a week into four days rather than five.”
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