Staff at Defra are campaigning to become the first central UK government department to trial a four-day working week, with no decline in pay.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union have called for a pilot scheme across 21,000 Defra employees to assess the benefits to their wellbeing and productivity.
The union is proposing a 20% reduction in working hours with no loss of wages, as this practice is "growing rapidly across the private and public sectors".
The Environment Agency is not included in the bid, but the Rural Payments Agency, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and Natural England are.
PCS said a survey of its members across all UK government departments found that 40% would consider quitting if they were forced to return to the office for a required minimum.
The union's general secretary, Mark Serwotka said: “Evidence suggests a four-day week would lead to a better work-life balance for staff and could improve productivity for the employer.
“Previous trials have led to a reduction in sick leave and improvements to staff retention and satisfaction.
"If Defra wants to seriously address the issues of employee burnout, stress and poor wellbeing they will listen to our members and implement this pilot.”
4 Day Week Campaign director, Joe Ryle said a four-day working week with no loss of pay "improves both productivity and the wellbeing of workers".
“It's been tested time and time again with great success in the private sector," he noted, "It's only right and fair to see if these benefits can apply to public sector workers.
“We're long overdue a reduction in working hours and we're proud to be supporting PCS members in their campaign.”
A petition has been delivered to Defra asking bosses to agree to a trial, but a spokesperson said there "are no plans for this", adding that "value-for-money should be provided to the taxpayer".
