A new pilot programme has launched in Ireland, giving employers the chance test out how effective a four-day working week is.
The scheme will come at no cost to employees, and will run for six months in a bid to monitor productivity and potential positive or negative outcomes.
It's being organised by the Four Day Week Ireland campaign, which is made up of representatives from Fórsa, ICTU, Friends of the Earth Ireland, the National Women's Council and academics.
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They claim that working four days rather than five will help to create a better work/life balance and also make businesses more productive.
"In the last year we have seen radical shifts in our working practices. More flexible ways of working are here to stay," said Joe O'Connor, the chairman of the Four Day Week Ireland to RTE.
"The launch of the four-day week pilot programme represents an exciting moment of change for employers and employees, and it's up to the business community now to show that they are willing to lead and support this change for the better.
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"The strong support for a four-day working week among Irish people is consistent with similar studies internationally. What may once have seemed like a radical concept is now, for many, a reasonable and rational ambition."
In order to ensure the scheme is trialled fairly and effectively, organisations that get involved will be offered training, mentoring and support.
The Irish government's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications have also promised to fund research into the four-day week pilot, offering a €150,000 (£128,157) grant to winning candidates who want to delve into its impacts.
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Researchers can dig into many different areas, be it the economic, environmental or social affect of the change.
Suggested topics to explore include gender inequality, job satisfaction and macro-economic impacts, employment levels, competitiveness of businesses and staff productivity; gas emissions, environmental pollution and resource or energy consumption.
Applications will be accepted from the 1st July.
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Leo Varadkar, Ireland's Tánaiste, said that the plans for a four day week were "ambitious", and it was "too early to say whether a four-day working week could work in Ireland".
He added that "ideas like annual leave, maternity and paternity leave and flexitime were once seen to be radical and are now the norm."
Similar pilot schemes have already begun in Spain and Scotland.
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