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In Iceland, 2,500 employees, about 1% of the country's workforce, participated between 2015 and 2019 in trials testing whether a four-day workweek at the same pay actually works. The participants' productivity was unanimously found to be similar or even higher. Similar official experiments are now taking place at 200 companies in Spain and will last three years in total. Attention to healthy work practices is becoming more common and regulated by law – in Portugal it is forbidden to contact employees about work outside their working hours.
The idea behind the four-day workweek is to keep the same pay while working fewer hours. One can reduce working days from five to four or work five days of six hours each. Why?
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Supporters of the idea mainly cite its beneficial effect on employees' mental health. A longer weekend means more time to rest and “recharge”, and a better chance to combine professional, private and family life. This contributes to employees' well-being, greater motivation and creativity, and a lower risk of burnout. It also forces the entire organisation to use time wisely – for example, limiting the length of meetings and the number of attendees. Some companies that have not introduced a four-day workweek seek other ways to support employee well-being and offer more relaxed Fridays for less demanding activities, weekly reviews, training and the like.
However, this may not suit every business or industry. Before making such a change, ensure good communication with clients so that they know they should not expect an answer on Fridays :)
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