Seven developed nations with a 4-day workweek culture

Many offices have now fully opened following the COVID-19 outbreak, and businesses are requesting that their staff members return working from the office. However, many businesses are now allowing a 4-day work week culture, given the convenience of working from home and the work-life balance that many employees experienced during the pandemic. Germany has lately made headlines because it plans to experiment with a 4-day workweek for six months, beginning on February 1, 2024. The purpose of the study is to determine whether the four-day workweek culture that labor unions have proposed will indeed improve employee happiness, health, and productivity.Germany is not the only nation that has opted for a 4-day workweek culture, though. Here is a list of developed nations that have also embraced this.Belgium was the first nation in the European Union (EU) to introduce an optional 4-day work week in 2022. The catch is that, in a 4-day work week, the total number of working hours stays the same as it does in a 5-day work week. There are forty hours of work in a week.The Netherlands has the world's shortest workweeks on average, according to official statistics. There, employees put in just 29 hours a week at work. Despite the absence of official regulations, stories state that individuals in the Netherlands only work four days a week.According to an OECD report, Denmark has the second-shortest workweek, with 33 hours worked. Although there isn't an explicit 4-day work week regulation in Denmark either, most individuals there only work four days a week. Despite their rigorous work ethic, Danes prefer to complete their tasks inside the legal 37-hour work week. The majority of workers depart at around 4 p.m. to pick up their kids and start cooking the evening meal; staying later is discouraged," according to a Denmark.dk article.Australia is doing a trial run of a 4-day work week with 20 enterprises. It states that employers in Australia should anticipate their staff to put in 38 hours a week of work. With the new work arrangement, called the 100:80:100 model, workers can work 80 percent of the hours and still keep 100% of their salary as long as they maintain 100% productivity. There are several models besides 100:80:100. According to a News.com.au report, some companies offer conventional 40-hour work weeks spread over four days, or they let employees work less weeks in exchange for a wage decrease.In 2021, the government of Japan published an annual economic policy urging firms to choose for a 4-day work week in the country, in contrast to the country's rigorous work ethic. Preventing "karoshi," which means "death by overwork," is the goal. Permitting folks to spend time apart from work is another goal. Due to increased spending and family life, which will increase the number of births in the nation—which is greatly required given its aging population—this will assist strengthen the economy.

According to sources, the Spanish government intends to spend 50 million euros over the course of three years to test a four-day work week. Approximately 200 Spanish companies are anticipated to take part in it.The United Kingdom went to a 4-day work week in 2022. In accordance with their regulations, participants in the trial run comprised 61 enterprises and more than 300 employees, with the expectation that workers would put in no more than 48 hours each week. With 61 organizations taking part, this was the largest experiment ever, and according to a Bloomberg report, there was a noticeable 65% decrease in sick leaves.According to a Bloomberg article, "when a 4-day work week was implemented, anxiety levels and sleeping problems receded by roughly 20%." This in turn has a favorable impact on the economy as a whole as well as the productivity of workers at work.