Speaking Boost · C1 · Lesson 39 of 50
Speaking Boost C1 · Block 8: Work and Creativity

Is the four-day week the future?

Several countries and companies have tested shorter working weeks. Discuss the evidence for and against, and learn emphatic language: far from, by no means, not in the least, nothing short of, utterly and absolutely, hardly any.

1

Warm-up

5 min
1.1

Working time

Answer each question with 2–3 sentences.

  1. How many days a week do you work or study?
  2. Would you accept lower pay for a shorter week?
  3. What would you do with an extra day off?
  4. Do you think we work too much?
  5. Do you work better in the morning or the afternoon?
  6. Is it fair that some jobs cannot shorten the week?
2

Words and phrases

12 min
2.1

New words

Read each word and the example. Then say a sentence about working time.

2.2

Which word?

Choose the word that fits.

  1. The amount of work done compared with the time used is known as .
  2. A state of physical and mental exhaustion caused by stress at work is called .
  3. Staff complained that their was too heavy, with too many tasks.
  4. Hours worked beyond normal working hours are called .
  5. Several companies took part in a six-month of a shorter week.
  6. A schedule lets staff choose when they start and finish.
  7. A fixed regular payment for professional work is a .
  8. Employers increasingly care about the health and happiness, or , of their staff.
2.3

Opposites and pairs

Choose the right answer, then press Check answers.

  1. productivity compares work done with
  2. burnout is exhaustion caused by
  3. overtime = hours worked
  4. a trial is a short
  5. flexible = able to
  6. wellbeing = health and
2.4

Useful phrases

Use these phrases to emphasise your point strongly.

  • Far from being...Далеко не...Far from being a luxury, the shorter week may be practical.
  • By no means...Аж ніяк не...It is by no means a perfect solution.
  • Not in the least...Анітрохи...I am not in the least worried about productivity.
  • Nothing short of...Не що інше, як...The change was nothing short of a revolution.
  • Absolutely essential / utterly...Абсолютно необхідний / цілковито...It is absolutely essential to measure results.
  • Hardly any...Майже жодних...Hardly any staff left the company.
  • It is by no means certain that...Аж ніяк не певно, що...It is by no means certain that it will work everywhere.
  • Quite the opposite.Якраз навпаки.Quite the opposite: output rose.
3

Read and react

8 min
3.1

The four-day week

Read the text. Hover over the dotted words for help.

Is the four-day week the future?

Is the four-day week the future? For most of the twentieth century, working hours fell. In 1926, Henry Ford introduced a five-day, forty-hour week in his car factories, arguing that rested workers were more productive. Today, the idea of a four-day week is being tested in many places.

Some trials have reported encouraging results. In Iceland, trials between 2015 and 2019 involved about 2,500 workers, around one per cent of the working population, and researchers described the results as an overwhelming success: workers reported less stress and less burnout, and productivity stayed the same or rose in most workplaces. In 2022, a pilot in the United Kingdom involved about sixty-one companies and nearly three thousand workers. At the end, the organisers reported that hardly any of the participating companies planned to go back, and many made the change permanent. A Japanese company reported in 2019 that sales per employee rose by about forty per cent during its trial, though the company's own figures should be treated with caution.

The picture is by no means simple. Companies that took part in trials were volunteers, and they may have been the ones that were most likely to succeed. It is far from clear that shorter weeks work equally well in hospitals, shops or restaurants, where staff cannot simply compress their workload. Some workers also reported that they felt more pressure on the four days that they worked.

Nonetheless, the idea is attracting serious attention. The change is nothing short of a rethink of how working time is organised, and governments in several countries are watching the results closely.

So is it the future? Possibly, for some jobs and some places, but the evidence is not yet absolute.

Would you take a four-day week with the same pay?

3.2

True or false?

  1. Henry Ford introduced a five-day week in 1926.
  2. The text says the trials involved only large hospitals.
  3. In the UK pilot, hardly any companies planned to go back.
  4. The text says that the evidence is already absolute.
  5. The text says that a shorter week is certain to work in every job.
3.3

What do you think?

  1. Which jobs could work with four days?
  2. Is the five-day week a habit or a necessity?
  3. Would a shorter week change society?
  4. What would you do with the extra day?
4

Grammar for speaking

10 min
4.1

Grammar for speaking

Emphatic negatives

Use far from + adjective / noun / -ing (= not at all), by no means (= not at all), not in the least and not at all for strong negatives, and hardly any / hardly ever for very small amounts or frequency. Do not combine hardly with no or never.

It is far from new. The solution is by no means perfect. I am not in the least worried. Hardly any staff left. He hardly ever complains.

Intensifying adverbs

Use absolutely, utterly, totally, entirely, completely and quite with strong or absolute adjectives (amazing, impossible, essential, ridiculous). Use very and extremely with gradable adjectives. Nothing short of means no less than.

The results were absolutely amazing. It is utterly impossible. The change was nothing short of a revolution. The trial was entirely successful.

Block 8 review

Use the grammar from this block.

wish and if only (L36) · would rather and would prefer (L37) · tentative language (L38)

Common mistakes: say far from + adjective or noun, by no means (with s), not in the least, nothing short of, absolutely with strong adjectives (not very), and hardly any (not hardly no). ✗ far to new → far from new. ✗ by no mean → by no means. ✗ very amazing → absolutely amazing. ✗ Hardly no staff → Hardly any staff. ✗ not on the least → not in the least.

4.2

Choose the right form

  1. The idea is
    new.
  2. It is
    a perfect system.
  3. The results were
    amazing.
  4. The change was
    a revolution.
  5. I am
    worried.
  6. It is
    impossible to finish in one day.
  7. The trial was
    successful.
  8. staff left the company.
4.3

Fix the mistake

Each sentence has one mistake. Type the correct words.

  1. The idea is far to new. →
  2. It is by no mean a perfect system. →
  3. The results were very amazing. →
  4. The change was nothing shorter of a revolution. →
  5. Hardly no staff left the company. →
  6. I am not on the least worried. →
4.4

Talk about it

Answer in detail. Use emphasis and the grammar of Block 8.

  1. Far from being a luxury, is a shorter week a necessity? Explain.
  2. Is the four-day week by no means suitable for every job? Give an example.
  3. What would be absolutely essential for a trial to work?
  4. Is the change nothing short of a revolution?
  5. Would you be not in the least bothered by lower pay?
  6. What would be utterly impossible about a shorter week in your job?
5

Three views and a short talk

8 min
5.1

Three views on the four-day week

Three people discuss the four-day week. Compare them. Who is the most enthusiastic? Who is the most doubtful? Whose view is closest to yours?

Person 1

Hanna, 36

  • Is a software developer
  • Says the shorter week is nothing short of life-changing
  • Feels less stressed
  • Works more efficiently
Person 2

Tom, 52

  • Runs a restaurant
  • Says a four-day week is by no means possible for him
  • Needs staff on weekends
  • Admits that burnout is real
Person 3

Dr Kaur, 44

  • Studies working time
  • Says evidence is promising
  • Warns about volunteer bias
  • Says more trials are needed
5.2

Mini-talk: the shorter week

Your teacher will time you.

  1. Plan for one minute, then speak for one or two minutes.
  2. Part 1: say whether you would like a four-day week and why.
  3. Part 2: use at least three emphatic expressions (far from, by no means, not in the least, utterly, absolutely, hardly any).
  4. Part 3: say what a government or a company should do next.
2:00
6

Personal questions

10 min
6.1

Part I: Me

  1. How many hours do you work in a week?
  2. Would you like to work fewer days?
  3. What would you do with an extra day?
  4. Do you work overtime?
  5. Have you ever felt burned out?
  6. How long is your commute?
  7. Do you work better from home?
  8. What is the best part of your working week?
6.2

Part II: Other people

  1. Who in your family works the longest hours?
  2. Who in your life has a flexible schedule?
  3. Who decides your working hours?
  4. Who would benefit most from a shorter week?
  5. Who in your life never takes a day off?
  6. Who should pay for a shorter week?
6.3

Part III: A bit deeper

  1. Should the standard working week be shorter?
  2. Is productivity the only measure of success?
  3. Should some workers be paid more for weekends?
  4. Is a shorter week fair to everyone?
  5. Will work be less important in the future?
7

Roleplay

12 min
7.1

Proposing a four-day week

You

Employee

You propose a four-day week to your manager (your teacher):
  • explain the idea
  • give two reasons
  • answer a worry
  • use emphatic language
Speak for at least 2 minutes in total. Use far from, by no means and absolutely.
Your teacher

Manager

Says things like:
  1. What is your idea?
  2. What are the reasons?
  3. What about customers?
  4. I will think about it.
7.2

Debating the shorter week

You

Speaker

You are in a debate (your teacher):
  • state your position
  • give evidence
  • respond to an objection
  • use nothing short of and hardly any
You do most of the talking. Use: far from... · by no means... · not in the least...
Your teacher

Opponent

Says things like:
  1. A four-day week cannot work.
  2. What is your evidence?
  3. But some jobs need five days.
  4. So what is your answer?
8

Homework

at home

Your homework score

Do all four exercises, then press Check all homework. Correct answers will appear next to your mistakes.

– / 30
H1

Complete with a word

productivityburnoutworkloadovertimetrialflexiblesalarywellbeing
  1. The amount of work done compared with the time used is known as .
  2. A state of physical and mental exhaustion caused by stress at work is called .
  3. Staff complained that their was too heavy, with too many tasks.
  4. Hours worked beyond normal working hours are called .
  5. Several companies took part in a six-month of a shorter week.
  6. A schedule lets staff choose when they start and finish.
  7. A fixed regular payment for professional work is a .
  8. Employers increasingly care about the health and happiness, or , of their staff.
H2

Choose the correct form

  1. The plan is perfect.
  2. It is easy.
  3. The food was delicious.
  4. The result was amazing.
  5. I am tired.
  6. It is impossible.
  7. The test was fair.
  8. customers came.
H3

Correct or incorrect?

Decide if each sentence is grammatically correct.

  1. The idea is far from new.
  2. The idea is far to new.
  3. It is by no means a perfect system.
  4. It is by no mean a perfect system.
  5. The results were absolutely amazing.
  6. The results were very amazing.
  7. Hardly any staff left the company.
H4

Match the two halves

  1. Far from being a luxury,
  2. It is by no means
  3. I am not in the least
  4. The change was nothing short of
  5. It is absolutely essential
  6. Hardly any staff
  7. Quite the opposite:

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© Yevheniia Kolesnykova, Academy of Languages. All rights reserved. No copying or reuse without written permission.