Discussions about the four-day work week have resumed from the COVID-19 pandemic, as employees and employers are rethinking the importance of flexibility and benefits in the workplace.
The idea is simple - employees will work four days a week, while being paid the same and having the same benefits, but with the same workload.
Therefore, companies that reduce their work week will operate with fewer appointments and more independent work.
Trade unions across Europe are calling for governments to implement the four-day working week, but which countries have embraced the idea and how has the process gone so far?
Belgium will introduce the week with four working days for employees who want
Belgian employees gained the right to work a full week in four days, instead of the usual five days, without any pay cut.
Employees will be able to decide whether to work four or five days a week, but that does not mean they will work less - they will simply split the fifth day working hours into the other four days .
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo hopes the agreement will help make the rigid labor market in Belgium more flexible and create facilities for people to combine their family life with their careers.
He also added that the new model should create a more dynamic economy.
The UK will launch a six-month program in June
The six-month pilot program is the largest test of its kind. It started in January and is recruiting many companies to study the impact of shorter working hours on business productivity and the well-being of their employees, as well as the impact on the environment and gender equality.
Under the reform, employees will be allowed to work up to 9.5 hours a day - for example, from 9 am to 6.30 pm - which means they will be able to reduce the working week to four longer days. .
This can be extended even further to a day with 10 working hours, through a union agreement in the workplace.
Scotland and Wales will join this global movement
In Scotland, such a test will begin in 2023, while Wales is considering applying it.
The decision was the culmination of a campaign promise made by the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP).
Employees will have a 20 percent reduction in working hours, but without any pay cuts.
Iceland: One of the leaders in the week with four working days
Between 2015 and 2019, Iceland implemented the world's largest pilot week program with 35 to 36 hours (a reduction from the traditional 40 hours), with no change in pay.
The pilot project was called a success story by Icelandic researchers and unions negotiating the reduction of working hours.
Sweden's different reactions to the four-day work week
In Sweden, the four-day full-time work week was tested in 2015 and had mixed results.
The proposal was to try days with six hours of work instead of those with eight hours, without having any pay cuts, but not everyone was happy with spending money on these tests.
Finland has not applied the week with four working days, despite its claims
Earlier this year, Finland topped international titles after it was reported that it would reduce working hours significantly.
The Finnish government allegedly wanted to apply both the four-day week and the six-day day.
However, this turned out to be false news.
German startups experiment with a shorter working week
Germany is known as one of the countries where the average working week is among the shortest in Europe. According to the World Economic Forum, the average working week in Germany is 34.2 hours.
However, unions are calling for further reductions in working hours.
According to a study by Forsa, 71 percent of people working in Germany would like to have the opportunity to work only four days a week. Just over three-quarters of respondents said they supported the government to look at the possibility of applying the week with four working days. On the part of employers, more than two-thirds of them supported the idea.
Large Japanese corporations present the week with four working days
In other countries like Japan, it is the larger companies that are looking at this opportunity, following the announcement by the Japanese government in 2021 of a plan to achieve a better work-life balance across the country.
There are many reasons that this could be a good initiative for Japan, where overwork death rates are very high. People who work long hours often get sick due to overwork or attempt suicide.
Spain will start with a trial period
Spain is also following in Japan's footsteps, with the small left-wing party Más País announcing earlier this year that the government had agreed to their request to launch a four-day pilot program in cooperation with companies interested in this idea.
The trial phase will last at least a year, but it is still not clear when it will start.
Unilever is currently experimenting with the shortened work week in New Zealand
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, 81 employees working for consumer goods giant Unilever are currently participating in a one-year weekly probationary period with four working days, continuing to receive full pay.
"Our goal is to measure performance with results, not time. We believe that past ways of working are outdated and no longer fit the purpose, ”said Nick Bangs, Unilever's general manager for New Zealand.
Great interest in US and Canada
According to a survey by cloud technology software provider Qualtrics, 92 percent of employees in America support reducing the work week, even if it meant working longer hours.
Employees surveyed perceived improved mental health and increased productivity as some of the benefits of this initiative.
In Canada, a study by the global employment agency Indeed found that 41 percent of Canadian employers are considering hybrid work schedules and new work methods following the COVID-19 pandemic. / Euronews / Monitor /
