Only work four instead of five days a week with the same wages – the dream of many employees. This was tested in Iceland in the world’s largest field study on the four-day week.
Largest field trial worldwide
The result: more productivity and well-being, less stress and burnout. A win-win situation for companies and employees.
From 2015 to 2019, one percent of the Icelandic population worked 35 instead of 40 hours a week. 2500 people took part, all employed in the public sector, for example in hospitals or city administrations.
The results of the study are so promising that Iceland’s unions have now started negotiations to make shorter, more flexible working hours the norm. This could soon be possible in 90 percent of jobs.
An experiment with a role model
The Spanish government recently presented a field test for the four-day week. Madrid agreed to work a 32-hour week over three years without cutting workers’ salaries.
There are similar plans in Japan and New Zealand and other countries may follow suit. Especially since with the corona crisis, the issues of health, psyche and work-life balance have gained in importance.
According to the latest available data, employees in the EU worked an average of 36.2 hours per week in 2019 – including full-time and part-time jobs. The front runners were the employees in Romania with 40.5 hours per week, the Netherlands came in last with 29.3 hours.
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
