Four-day week trial confirms working less increases wellbeing and productivity

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is a Director of the World Wellbeing Movement which counts the 4 Day Week Global organization among its founding members.

A group of companies that have been trialling a four-day working week have recently reported increased revenue, with fewer employees taking time off or resigning. While it’s easy to understand the effects of a shorter week on worker wellbeing, the positive effects on company earnings and productivity may be more of a surprise – but research backs this up.

These firms have been participating in a trial organised by non-profit 4 Day Week Global. The four-day working week trial, which involved 33 companies and nearly 1,000 employees, saw no loss of pay for employees – organisations paid 100% of their salaries for 80% of their time. But employees also pledged to put in 100% of their usual effort over the shorter working week.

And this kind of strategy doesn’t just work for nine-to-five office jobs. Iceland trialled reduced working hours between 2015 and 2019 in a scheme that included hospitals, schools and social service workers. The country considered it an “overwhelming success” and reduced hours – without a reduction in pay – has since been rolled out to 86% of Iceland’s workforce.

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