When less means more - 2nd August 2021

Over 2,500 employees, equating to approximately one percent of Iceland's workforce, have taken part in trials jointly carried out by Reykjavik City Council and the government of Iceland. Heralded as an 'overwhelming success', the research allowed workers to put in fewer hours while maintaining the same salaries they had previously earned.

According to analysis from UK think tank Autonomy and the country’s own Association for Sustainable Democracy (Alda), the productivity of the workers involved in the experiment remained steady, or in some cases actually rose. Following this success, a significant majority of Iceland’s labour force, fully 86 percent, has now transitioned to working fewer hours for the same level of remuneration, or will be entitled to in the near future.

A gamut of public sector employers took part in the 2015 to 2019 trials. The data, gathered from preschools, hospitals, offices and social services, has enabled unions to renegotiate contracts. Working weeks have been realigned from 40 hours to 35 or 36.

Participants hailed the trial’s benefits, experiencing a reduction in stress and feeling less at risk of burnout. Additional gains reported include health benefits and enhanced work-life balance, enabling people to devote a greater portion of their time to family, interests and domestic tasks.

Will Stronge, director of research at Autonomy, praised the research. "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. It shows that the public sector is ripe for being a pioneer of shorter working weeks – and lessons can be learned for other governments," he reflected.

Other countries have already begun to follow the example set by Iceland, with a four day week being piloted in Spain. Arising in part out of the necessity of the pandemic, the three year project allows companies to reduce employees’ hours while maintaining their present salaries. On the opposite side of the world, the New Zealand division of multinational consumer goods conglomerate Unilever is also trialling a 20 percent reduction in hours without loss of earnings.