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Iceland maybe known for its natural wonders such as the largest glaciers in Europe and the most active volcanoes in the world. But recently, the country has made headlines following the four-day workweek trials that researchers consider as an “overwhelming success.”

From 2015 to 2019, public sector employees in Iceland took part in two large trials where they worked 35 to 36 hours per week, with no reduction in pay.

Prior to these trials, which were run by the Reykjavík City Council and the national government, most of the participants worked an average of 40 hours a week.

And according to researchers from UK think tank Autonomy and research organization Association for Sustainability and Democracy (Alda), the trials yielded positive results as “worker wellbeing dramatically increased across a range of indicators, from perceived stress and burnout, to health and work-life balance.”

What do you think of having 3 days off in a week? / Source: Pexels

The trials found that “productivity and service provisions remained the same or improved across the majority of the workplaces” despite the shortened working hours.

There were a total of 2,500 workers who took part in the trials, which is only over 1% of Iceland's entire working population.

However, after the trials concluded, many companies in The Land of Fire and Ice have adapted to a shorter workweek.

Now about 86% of Iceland's workforce are already working shorter hours or have gained the right to do so.

“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,” Will Stronge, Director of Research at Autonomy, said. “It shows that the public sector is ripe for being a pioneer of shorter working weeks - and lessons can be learned for other governments.”

Alda researcher Gudmundur D. Haraldsson also emphasized what the most important takeaway is from the four-day workweek trials.

“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,” Haraldsson underlined. “Our roadmap to a shorter working week in the public sector should be of interest to anyone who wishes to see working hours reduced.”

Aside from Iceland's public sector, other bigger international corporations have also conducted their own shorter workweek trials.

In December 2020, Unilever New Zealand announced that it will run a 4-day workweek for its employees with full pay. This was reportedly inspired by a change in working habits amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Microsoft in Japan, on the other hand, did a four-day workweek trial in 2019. And much like the trials in Iceland, it also turned out beneficial for both the employees and the corporation as productivity, measured by sales per employee, skyrocketed to almost 40% compared to the same period in the previous year.

What do you think about having a four-day workweek, mga Kapuso? Do you think it'll work in the Philippines? Sound off in the comments section.

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You might also like to learn more about “working from paradise.”