7 developed countries that have a 4-day work week culture

Post Covid-19 pandemic, many offices have now opened up fully and companies are asking their employees to resume work from office. However, considering the flexibility of work from home and the work-life balance that many employees experienced during the pandemic, many offices are now allowing a 4-day work week culture. More recently, Germany is in the news as the country is all set to try a 4-day work week culture for six months, starting February 1, 2024. The study aims to find out if a 4-day work week culture would really make employees happier, healthier, and more productive as suggested by labour unions.

Meanwhile, Germany is not the only country that has chosen for a 4-day work week culture. Here we list down some developed countries that have also adopted this.

In 2022, Belgium became the first country in the European Union (EU) to make a 4-day work week culture optional. However the catch here is that the total working hours remains the same in a 4-day work week as it is in a 5-day work week. The total working hours per week is 40.

According to government data, Netherlands has the shortest work weeks on average in the world. People there work only for 29 hours a week. As per reports, while Netherlands has no official rules, people there work for only 4 days per week.

Denmark has the second shortest working hours per week at 33 hours, as per a report by OECD. While Denmark also doesn't have an official 4-day work week mandate, people there generally work for only four days per week. "While the Danes are hard workers, they prefer to do their jobs within Denmark's 37 hour official work week. Staying extra hours is discouraged, and most employees leave at around 4pm to pick up their children and begin preparing the evening meal," reads a report by Denmark.dk.

20 companies in Australia are practicing a 4-day work week in a pilot run. As per it, an employer in Australia can expect their employees to work for 38 hours per week. "The new form of working, known as the 100:80:100 model, allows employees to keep 100 percent of their pay while working 80 percent of the hours — as long as they maintain 100 percent of their productivity... And 100:80:100 isn’t the only model. Other organisations allow staff to work shorter weeks for a pay cut, or offer standard 40-hour weeks condensed over four days," reads a report by News.com.au.

Contrary to Japan's intense work culture, in an annual economic policy released in 2021 the government is encouraging companies to opt for a 4-day work week in the country. The idea is to prevent 'karoshi' which translates to "death by overwork". The idea is also to let people spend time outside of work. This will help boost the economy as people will spend more money, and have a family life which will contribute to more child births in the country, which is much needed for their ageing population.

As per reports, the Spanish government plans to invest 50 million Euros for a 4-day work week trial which will run for three years. Roughly 200 companies in Spain are expected to participate in it.

In 2022, the United Kingdom followed a 4-day work week. Sixty one companies and over 300 employees participated in the trial run, and people were expected to work for a maximum of 48-hours-per week as per their laws. This was the biggest ever trial with 61 companies' participation, and it was noticed that there was a significant drop of 65% in sick leaves, as per a Bloomberg report.

"In Portugal, anxiety levels and sleeping problems receded by roughly 20%," when a 4-day work week was implemented, reads a report by Bloomberg. This in turn also positively affected employees' productivity at work and overall economy.