Workers and bosses emerged as the winners of a pilot project in Iceland that aimed to test the impacts of the four-day work week, Global News reports. From 2015 to 2019, 2500 employees from various sectors of activity participated in this vast study. To be honest, this sampling represents just under 1% of the population. Workers and bosses emerged as the winners of a pilot project in Iceland that aimed to test the impacts of the four-day work week, Global News reports.
From 2015 to 2019, 2500 employees from various sectors of activity participated in this vast study. To be honest, this sampling represents just under 1% of the population.
The participating companies therefore reduced the working hours of their employees by 40 to 35 or 36.
At the same time, bosses have also increased the productivity of their workers by reducing the number of meetings and by reorganizing work shifts.
“A staggering success”
And the conclusions of the study are quite clear: the experience was very positive for employees who said they saw a significant increase in their well-being.
Many have seen their stress levels drop and have managed to find a better balance between work and personal life.
The researchers responsible for the study also indicated that in the majority of participating businesses, the level of productivity increased or remained the same.
“This study shows that the world's largest pilot project of a short work week has resulted in astounding success,” said the study leader in a statement.
In fact, following this pilot project, the Icelandic unions pressed for the implementation of the four-day week in all workplaces.
Today, 86% of workers in the Nordic country have adopted this type of schedule or will be able to do so in the near future, say the researchers who worked on this study.
They also hope to see other nations adopt this model and reduce the working weeks of their population.
“The Icelandic pilot project shows us not only that it is possible to work less in this day and age, but also that progressive changes are possible,” said researcher Gudmundur Haraldsson.
