SCOTLAND’S World Cup bank holiday shows the benefits of a four-day week, the Scottish Greens have said.
On Monday, Scots will observe a one-off bank holiday to celebrate the men’s national team participating in the Fifa World Cup.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, John McGinn’s goal 28 minutes in secured a 1-0 victory against Haiti.
Fans celebrated into the early hours of Sunday morning, with the bank holiday set to help offset any lingering hangovers. We told how pubs across the country saw “record breaking sales” as football fans celebrated the first World Cup win since 1990.
Gillian Mackay, Scottish Greens co-leader, was one of the first to call for an extra bank holiday after the men’s side qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
The party has had a long-standing campaign in place for industries across Scotland to adopt a four-day working week as standard, saying this would offer people a better work-life balance, flexibility and more control over their lives.
“I’m sure thousands of us will have tuned in to cheer on Scotland this weekend and revel in the excitement of the World Cup kicking off, so it’s great that we were able to secure an extra bank holiday to reset before heading back to work tomorrow,” Mackay said.
“Nobody should feel that their whole life has to revolve around work, but for too many of us that tends to be the case.
“People stuck in this cycle can end up living for the rest they get on two days at the weekend, the odd bank holiday here and there.
“We need to give more people that chance to actually enjoy what they do for work without burning out, and let them exist outside of work too.”
Mackay added that a four-day week without a loss of pay has been “proven to benefit everyone”, allowing people to juggle family life, attend hospital appointments, work on passion projects, socialise or “simply getting a bit more time to sleep”.
“One extra day during the week makes workers feel valued,” Mackay added.
“Trials are showing that this model increases productivity and job satisfaction, as well as reducing stress that usually leads to people needing time off.
“The four-day work week is also good for wider society as well. Our NHS and mental health services are under pressure, so having an extra day to yourself can hugely decrease work-related stress and exhaustion, which helps to ease that pressure.
“That’s why we want to work with trade unions and employers across Scotland to promote and normalise the benefits of a four-day working week, with no loss of pay.”
