From 2015 to 2019, Iceland ran the world’s largest trial of a shorter working week. An analysis of the results was finally published this week, and surprise! Everyone was happier, healthier, and more productive. Please pretend to be surprised.
The report was jointly prepared by the Association for Sustainability and Democracy (Alda) in Iceland and UK think tank Autonomy, who note that Iceland’s experiment could be used as a blueprint for future trials around the world.
This is far from the first time the benefits of a shorter work week have made themselves known. When Microsoft Japan trialed a four-day work week in 2019, productivity increased by almost 40 percent. New Zealand firm Perpetual Guardian permanently switched to a four-day work week in 2018 after their own trial saw productivity increase 20 percent. Companies around the world have tried shorter work weeks again and again, continually confirming the International Labour Organisation’s 2018 report that shorter work hours typically produce happier, more productive workers.
See Iceland ran the world’s largest trial of a shorter work week. The results will (not) shock you.
#4dayworkweek #work #iceland #productivity
Why aren’t we doing this already?