Vast majority of Canadians willing to shorten work week to 4 days: poll

The vast majority of Canadians, 79 per cent, would prefer a four-day work week working 10 hours a day rather than the current five-day work week while working eight hours a day, according to a new poll.

The Maru Public Opinion poll found they would do it for the same pay as well. The respondents most likely to make the change were from Manitoba/Saskatchewan at 83 per cent, followed by Ontario with 82 per cent. Quebec has the lowest rate of respondents wanting the change at 74 per cent.

Workers who were the most open to making the switch were in the highest income category, making $100,000 or more per year with 88 per cent.

The next highest were those earning $25,000 to $49,000 at 81 per cent while those making the least, less than $25,000, were the least open to making the switch at 76 per cent.

Women were also more likely to opt for the four-day work week at 86 per cent compared to men at 79 per cent.

The Ontario Liberal party said it would pilot a four-day work week if elected, saying the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way people think about their jobs.

Among the countries that have already begun to implement the short work week are Japan, New Zealand, Ireland, and Spain.

Tina Dacin, a business professor at Queen’s University told CityNews last week with the pandemic forcing many people to work from home, a four-day workweek could relieve a lot of stress and make for a better work-life balance.

This survey was conducted on Jan. 25-26, 2022 involving 1,518 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada online panelists as well as 769 full-time Canadian employees who were interviewed and has an estimated margin of error of +/- 3.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.