Iceland’s four-day work week trial was a success. Image credit: AdobeStock
Iceland’s four-day work week trial was ‘an overwhelming success’
Shorter hours at the same pay? Researchers say Iceland’s trial of a four-day work week has been an ‘overwhelming success’.
Iceland’s four-day work week trial was a success. Image credit: AdobeStock
Researchers in Iceland have found that a four-day work week, where employees worked shorter hours without a pay cut has been “an overwhelming success” as productivity levels were either maintained or increased.
THE FOUR-DAY WORK WEEK TRIAL
Between 2015 and 2019, a trial for a four-day work week took place in Iceland. Workers were paid the same amount for working shorter hours, usually 35 to 36 hours as opposed to the usual 40 hour work week. In Iceland it is illegal to work more than 13 hours a day.
The trial was run by Reykjavik City Council and the national government and included more than 2500 employees equating to 1% of Iceland’s working population according to BBC. A range different of workplaces took part in the study including social service providers, hospitals, preschools and offices.
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THE TRIAL WAS AN ‘OVERWHELMING SUCCESS’
After the trial was completed, researchers from the United Kingdom (UK) think tank Autonomy and the Association for Sustainable Democracy (Alda) found that the productivity of employees either remained the same or improved while the well being of workers also improved.
“Worker wellbeing dramatically increased across a range of indicators, from perceived stress and burnout, to health and work-life balance,” according to the study published by Autonomy.
The trial led to 86% of Iceland’s working population moving to shorter hours or giving them the right to do so in the future. The trials were therefore considered a success.
“This study shows that the world’s largest ever trial of a shorter working week in the public sector was by all measures an overwhelming success,” said Will Stronge, director of research at the think tank Autonomy to the Washington Post.
“It shows that the public sector is ripe for being a pioneer of shorter working weeks – and lessons can be learned for other governments,” he added.
“The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times, but that progressive change is possible too,” said Gudmundur Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.
Similar studies are currently being run in other parts of the world such as Spain and New Zealand.
