Word formation

Supporters of the four-day working week argue that it leaves staff happier and, perhaps surprisingly, more 1.. In a number of recent trials, companies reported that employees took fewer days off sick and that staff 2. had improved, with fewer people leaving for other jobs. Critics, however, remain 3.. They point out that most trials have involved office-based firms that volunteered to take part, which makes the results difficult to apply to the economy as a whole. In sectors such as healthcare, where staff 4. are already common, cutting hours could put patients at risk. There is also the question of how the change is 5.. Squeezing five days' work into four can leave employees feeling more stressed, not less, and some participants admitted that the 6. of their working day had increased considerably. Even so, the 7. of companies involved in trials have chosen to keep the shorter week, suggesting that, for some 8. at least, the benefits clearly outweigh the drawbacks.