A little good news for the social credit human satisfaction movement. Iceland had experimented with about one percent of its workers working a four-day week, same pay. It was found that productivity increased. I imagine that it is a universal experience for people to pad the day out given the tyranny of work, but working only four days makes things more bearable, even for lousy jobs.
“Trials of a four-day working week in Iceland have been lauded an "overwhelming success", with research revealing the initiative helped increase productivity, and led to an overall improvement in workers' wellbeing.
Key points:
- As part of the trials, employees from a range of professions moved to a 35- or 36-hour working week, but received the same pay
- Despite concerns a shorter working week would unintentionally lead to overwork, the results of the trials "directly contradict this", the report found
- About 86 per cent of Iceland’s entire working population has "now either moved to working shorter hours or have gained the right to shorten their working hours"
The trials, run by Reykjavík City Council and the Icelandic government, were held between 2015 and 2019, and ultimately included more than 2,500 workers — or about one per cent of Iceland's working population.
As part of the project, employees from a range of professions — including offices, kindergartens, social service providers and hospitals — moved from a 40-hour working week, to a 35- or 36-hour working week, but received the same pay.
Research into the trials, published this month by researchers from the UK think tank Autonomy and Iceland's Association for Sustainable Democracy (Alda), noted that following the trials' success, trade unions "achieved permanent reductions in working hours for tens of thousands of their members across the country".
In total, roughly 86 per cent of Iceland’s entire working population has "now either moved to working shorter hours or have gained the right to shorten their working hours", the report found, adding that such reductions were won in contracts negotiated between 2019 and 2021.
A four-day work week probably sounds good right now, but there's a catch
'Like a gift from the heavens'
Stressed out and stuck in a rut, Bryn trialled a four-day week. This is what happened next
Bryn Davies did what others only dream of: he asked his employer if he could work four days a week.
The trials also resulted in a marked improvement in worker wellbeing, which increased across a range of indicators, from perceived stress and burnout to health and work-life balance.
One manager, who took part in the initiative, remarked: "I work less … For me it is like a gift from the heavens. And I like it a lot".
"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 D Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.