A century ago, the five-day working week helped reshape society. It was introduced at scale by industrial pioneers to address not only worker wellbeing but also economic pressures.

US industrialist Henry Ford was among the first to give workers two full days off per week, 100 years ago this month. Ford suspected that giving workers a “weekend” would increase overall productivity – and he was correct.

Today, as advances in artificial intelligence accelerate and concerns about job security grow, a similar question is emerging. Could reducing working time again help societies adapt to these seismic changes?

The evidence increasingly suggests it can, but not in the simplistic way that is often portrayed. The four-day week is not just a workplace benefit. It is a potential tool to improve wellbeing, support families and rethink how work is distributed in society.

Research across multiple countries, including large-scale pilots in the UK and Portugal, shows that reducing working time can deliver meaningful benefits for both employees and organisations.

In a 2025 study of four-day week adoption, my colleagues and I found improvements in sleep, exercise and quality of working life. There were positive implications for both the mental and physical health of employees.

Our research showed productivity at work can also increase, alongside reductions in absenteeism and staff turnover. And it can be beneficial for an employer’s social image.

However, the most important insight is not about productivity but what happens outside work. After all, time is a social resource, not just an economic one.

When people move to a four-day week, they do not simply rest more. They reallocate time in ways that have broader implications for society.

Across our research, participants said they spend more time with family and friends, engaging in community activities and investing in their physical and mental health by exercising and practising hobbies and self-care activities.

These are not trivial changes. Over time, they contribute to stronger social ties, better mental health and more resilient communities.

There are also important gender implications. Early findings suggest that reduced working time can lead to fathers being more involved in caring for their children and other domestic responsibilities. While this does not automatically solve gender inequality, it creates conditions that make more equal divisions of labour possible.

In this sense, the four-day week is not just about work. It is about how societies organise care, relationships and everyday life.

The challenge in service sectors

Critics of a four-day week often point out that it is harder to implement in service sectors such as healthcare, childcare, manufacturing, hospitality or retail. This is true, but it is not a reason to dismiss the idea.

In these sectors, work is tied to time, presence and staffing levels. Reducing working hours often requires more complex redesign, including changes to rotas, additional hiring or upfront investment. Colleagues and I have highlighted this when addressing the UK case of the NHS.

But these challenges should be seen as design problems, not impossibilities. In fact, the potential benefits to society may be even greater in these sectors. Improved wellbeing and reduced burnout among healthcare staff and care workers can translate into better quality of service and fewer mistakes.

A more important concern is inequality. If working time reductions are adopted unevenly, there is a risk that some workers will be excluded – often those in lower-paid or frontline roles. This is a valid concern, but not an argument against the four-day week. Rather, it is an argument for implementing it more thoughtfully.

Instead of asking whether all jobs can adopt the same model, the focus should be on how different forms of reduced work time can be adapted across sectors. This could include shorter daily hours, staggered schedules or phased time reductions.

The future of work

The renewed interest in reducing the amount of time we spend working is not happening in isolation. It is closely linked to broader debates about automation, productivity and the future of work.

If technological advances continue to increase productivity, a fundamental question arises: who benefits from these gains?

Historically – during the Great Depression, for example – working time reductions have been one way of redistributing those benefits. Compared with more radical proposals such as universal basic income, the four-day week offers a more direct and socially embedded way of sharing gains in productivity.

The four-day week is not a universal solution, and it will not look the same everywhere. But the evidence shows working less can go hand-in-hand with maintaining productivity.

It can also support a shift towards a society where time is valued not only as an economic input, but as a foundation for wellbeing, relationships and participation in community life.

A century after the five-day week helped define modern work, there may be another turning point on the horizon. This time, the real question is not whether we can afford to reduce working time, but whether we can afford not to.

Steve Davis called for action at the end of Mark Allen’s Friday afternoon session with Wu Yize due to an agonisingly slow frame of snooker

Steve Davis labelled the 100-minute and 21-second frame between Mark Allen and Wu Yize at the World Snooker Championship an “embarrassment” to the sport. The snooker legend also called on the referees’ and players’ associations to take action to prevent a repeat of such an incident.

The pair became embroiled in a historically lengthy 14th frame at the Crucible on Friday evening, with both players adopting a cautious approach as all the reds remained clustered around the black near the far pocket. Allen, who held a 43-13 lead at the time, was intent on kissing the reds with the cue ball and sending it rolling to the opposite end of the table.

Yize, meanwhile, was content to gently roll it back towards the pack, ensuring contact was made without disturbing or displacing the black. The audience grew understandably restless as the frame dragged on, resorting to sarcastic applause and cheering after each shot, as BBC coverage displayed a graphic revealing that no ball had been potted for approximately 40 minutes.

At one point, a spectator was heard shouting: “Can we have a rerack?” to which referee Marcel Eckhardt responded: “Thanks for the advice but we can do it without you.”

The official was also forced to appeal to audience members to rein in their slow clapping and jeering on several occasions as tensions reached boiling point inside the Crucible Theatre. Eckhardt eventually took charge of the match following a word from a superior, informing both Allen and Yize that they had just three shots to alter the play or face a re-rack.

It was a decision that Allen contested given he held the upper hand. The Northern Irishman ultimately cannoned the reds into the black, potting the ball in a foul to hand Yize a significant advantage – before the Chinese star eventually clinched the frame 88-62 to level proceedings and bring a lengthy and difficult-to-watch session to a close.

Unimpressed by the spectacle, Davis gave his verdict live from the BBC Sport studio in the wake of the match. He said: “In a nutshell, that frame’s an embarrassment to snooker, and the referees’ and the players’ association need to try and work out a way that never happens again.”

Kyren Wilson also vented: “Marcel should have called that a lot earlier. That frame was going nowhere. Quite painful.”

Meanwhile, snooker supporters were quick to share their opinions on social media, similarly suggesting that Eckhardt ought to have asserted greater authority over the match.

One wrote: “The referee was out of his depth having a decision made for him,” while another added: “Ref had a shocker!!”

Another viewer commented: “Worse frame of snooker I’ve ever seen. Ref completely bottled it in the face of Allen’s reluctance to accept his decision.”

With Yize claiming the frame, the pair resume their contest on Saturday level at 7-7.

In the other semi-final, meanwhile, Shaun Murphy faces John Higgins for a place in the final, with the two players returning to the table at 8-8 in Friday’s concluding session of the day.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don has discussed his health issues, revealing he has had to adapt his gardening routine as he reflects on getting older

Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don was compelled to make a “change” after opening up about a health issue. Monty’s lifelong devotion to gardening began during childhood when he would assist with pulling weeds from his family’s garden.

While Monty initially confesses he “hated it,” his enthusiasm for all things horticultural flourished and he became skilled at plucking chickens and tending a vegetable patch during his teenage years. This eventually led him to working as a gardener in the Aix-en-Provence region of France.

He has maintained remarkable gardens ever since, regularly offering viewers a glimpse into his Longmeadow home on Gardeners’ World. The 70-year-old has, however, altered the way he goes about his work over the years.

Speaking to Country Life magazine, Monty revealed he no longer listens to music while working. He said: “I used to, but I find now – in the last sort of five years or so – whether it’s part of my hearing going a bit so therefore I have to listen harder – it’s distracting.

“But when I used to work to music, it was always Baroque music, namely Bach. I don’t relax to music ever. What I found was it put me in the right space in order to focus.”

Monty continued by saying he finds music “almost the opposite of relaxing” yet acknowledges he considers the Baroque period’s style to be “sublime”. The television personality also confesses he “hates” background music. He maintains that playing music during a dinner party, for instance, implies that “music has no value”. He now finds himself torn between wanting to listen to music or tending to his garden, confessing: “I can’t do both simultaneously.”

Monty, who assumed the Gardeners’ World presenting role in 2003 following Alan Titchmarsh’s departure, has openly acknowledged he “hasn’t got endless time left”. He remains acutely conscious that he has now surpassed the age at which both his parents passed away.

This realisation has previously prompted him to reflect on his future with the popular programme. Speaking to The Guardian in November 2023, he remarked: “I haven’t got endless time left. If I’m still going strong in 20 years, that will be brilliant, but 20 years ago doesn’t seem so long ago.”

He suggested at the time that he might have departed the show before reaching 70. However, he has since given viewers reassurance that he has no immediate plans to step down. He informed The Telegraph: “But I’d be very happy to do another five years. If the BBC renew my contract, I’d happily take it.”

Should he eventually leave Gardeners’ World, Monty has indicated he would continue working in television, revealing his ambition to produce additional documentaries. The horticultural expert has already journeyed to gardens across America, Italy, France and beyond while creating programmes.

Gardeners’ World returns to BBC Four at 9pm this evening. This week, Monty will be sowing seeds to guarantee a consistent supply of herbs including thyme and sage, which struggle in his soil conditions.

Carol Klein, meanwhile, will be crafting a vegetable border interspersed with flowers to deliver colour throughout the year. Elsewhere, Advolly Richmond heads to Fife to discover more about the pink cupped daffodil.

Residents and motorists are encouraged to plan their journeys in advance and allow additional travel time

This Sunday the good people of Belfast will welcome thousands of participants to its streets for the 2026 Phoenix Energy Belfast City Marathon.

The 26.2-mile challenge will begin at Stormont Estate, travel through North, South, East and West of the city, and finish in Ormeau Park.

As a result, motorists can expect some disruption throughout the morning and early afternoon, although every effort will be made to keep this to a minimum.

READ MORE: Belfast City Marathon 2026 road closures, route, transport, results, Expo details and more ahead of race dayREAD MORE: Belfast City Marathon Results 2026: Official finish times

Roads will begin to close wholly or partially from approximately 6am until 4pm. Once all runners have passed each point on the route, the reopening of roads will be managed as quickly and safely as possible.

The 2026 Phoenix Energy Belfast City Marathon route follows a similar format to previous years, with some adjustments across sections of the course. You can view a full list of closures here https://canva.link/bcmroadclosure26

The area around Stormont Estate and Upper Newtownards Road will be closed to through traffic between approximately 6am – 10:30am, as runners make their way through East Belfast including Beersbridge, Castlereagh and surrounding areas.

A full road closure will be in place on sections of the Ravenhill Road and Ormeau Embankment from approximately 7am – 12pm, as participants move towards South Belfast.

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