People working a four-day week would lead to a stronger economy, the Fórsa trade union has said.

The days of doing 9 to 5 could be numbered if Ireland’s largest public service union gets its way.

Fórsa wants workers to do a four-day week and is hosting a conference in Dublin today to hear what employees in other countries do.

The union says most of the benefits of productivity because of technology are being felt by the global elite, not by ordinary workers.

They claim reduced working hours is one of the main issues in debates about the future of work.

Fórsa says a national debate on introducing a four-day working week is needed.

Labour's Employment spokesperson Ged Nash that as we move closer towards full employment, we should look at the pressures facing workers and examine how our laws can be changed to benefit them.

"The world of work is changing rapidly and workers are increasingly being made feel like they need to be constantly available to their employers," he said.

In order to make work more productive and to ensure family life and society benefits from advances in technology I think it is timely that we examine how our working time laws at Irish and EU level can better serve workers and industry by providing workers with a better work-life balance.

“With workers constantly being expected to be ‘on’, there is evidence to suggest that quality of work and productivity can suffer as a result.

“Employees and employers don’t benefit from this kind of practice," he said.

Digital Desk