STUDY LABOUR AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IS THURSDAY THE NEW FRIDAY? The Future of Working Time and Hopes for a Four-day Week Patrick Briône July 2019 There has been a considerable increase in interest in working time reduction in the UK, with the trade union movement and Labour Party recently join­ing calls for a four-day week. After a decade of flatlining productivity, UK employers are looking around for innova­tive solutions. Some have started to experiment with a four-day week to try and boost engagement and re­duce presenteeism, while im­proving employee wellbeing. Case studies suggest the ben­efits of a four-day week are real and achievable for some, but serious barriers remain to rolling out such a policy more widely across the economy, especially in larger organisa­tions and the public sector.