Scotland: Teachers Approve Of The Four-Day Work Week Model

The largest teaching union in Scotland has decided to support efforts to reduce the standard workweek to four days.  Delegates at the EIS annual general meeting overwhelmingly supported a resolution asking for the union’s council to advocate for a four-day week, together with other trade unions and the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

Ella van Loock, a delegate from Glasgow, said that a four-day week might potentially make a “huge difference” to the health and wellness of teachers.  This had “changed my life,” she said, since she was already working four days a week.

Additionally, she said that women in the teaching profession were “disproportionately impacted by caring responsibilities” and, as a result, would gain the most from greater flexibility in the work environment if the five-day model was abolished.ย Additionally, Ms. van Loock argued that a four-day work week would make teaching more appealing to graduates.

Shauna Richardson, a delegate from Glasgow, stated that the notion may seem radical, but in fact, Scotland was behind the times, having given successful four-day weeks in New Zealand, Sweden, and Utah.ย However, EIS council member Andrew Fullwood said that the four-day workweek will take some time to implement and that support for the concept of a weekend initially appeared to be an unrealistic notion.

Reports have surfaced this week that the United Kingdom is planning to implement the world’s biggest four-day work week trial.


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