A CAMPAIGN for a four-day working week is being stepped up in the coming months amid warnings that Britain’s culture of long hours is pushing people to the brink.

A shorter working week has been introduced at scores of private firms, but supporters of the development hope it can be extended to the public sector, including councils.

More than 150 companies are accredited to the 4 Day Week Campaign, with benefits said to include better retention of staff and less stress.

Civil servants at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs have submitted a petition calling for a four-day week trial. The PCS union said its proposal would involve a 20 per cent reduction in working hours for staff with no loss of wages.

The move followed pressure from some government ministers to increase the amount of time civil servants spend in their workplaces.

Four Day Week Campaign director Joe Ryle said recent official figures showing that almost two million workers reported suffering from work-related ill health in 2022-23 demonstrated the urgency of a cut in the working week.