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Iceland's Four-day Working Week Trials an 'Overwhelming Success', Report Finds - ABC News

Accepted submission by upstart at 2021-07-07 00:18:13
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Iceland's four-day working week trials an 'overwhelming success', report finds - ABC News [abc.net.au]:

Trials of a four-day working week in Iceland have been lauded an "overwhelming success", with research revealing the initiative helped increase productivity, and led to an overall improvement in workers' wellbeing.

Key points:

  • As part of the trials, employees from a range of professions moved to a 35- or 36-hour working week, but received the same pay
  • Despite concerns a shorter working week would unintentionally lead to overwork, the results of the trials "directly contradict this", the report found
  • About 86 per cent of Iceland’s entire working population has "now either moved to working shorter hours or have gained the right to shorten their working hours"

The trials, run by Reykjavík City Council and the Icelandic government, were held between 2015 and 2019, and ultimately included more than 2,500 workers [en.alda.is] — or about one per cent of Iceland's working population.

As part of the project, employees from a range of professions — including offices, kindergartens, social service providers and hospitals — moved from a 40-hour working week, to a 35- or 36-hour working week, but received the same pay.

Research into the trials, published this month by researchers from the UK think tank Autonomy and Iceland's Association for Sustainable Democracy (Alda) [autonomy.work], noted that following the trials' success, trade unions "achieved permanent reductions in working hours for tens of thousands of their members across the country".

In total, roughly 86 per cent of Iceland’s entire working population has "now either moved to working shorter hours or have gained the right to shorten their working hours", the report found, adding that such reductions were won in contracts negotiated between 2019 and 2021.

"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," said Will Stronge, director of research at Autonomy.

"It shows that the public sector is ripe for being a pioneer of shorter working weeks – and lessons can be learned for other governments."

'Like a gift from the heavens'

Despite concerns a shorter working week would unintentionally lead to overwork, the results of the trials "directly contradict this", the report found. [autonomy.work]

Rather, a reduction in working hours led to staff working less as a "direct result" of workplaces implementing new work strategies, while productivity and service provision "remained the same or improved across the majority of trial workplaces".

"Organisation was key to working less — and the reward of reduced hours provoked people to organise their work more efficiently — with changes made to how meetings were run, as well as schedules, and in some cases to opening hours," the report noted.

"In some instances, meetings were avoided by instead sending emails or exchanging information electronically."

The trials also resulted in a marked improvement in worker wellbeing, which increased across a range of indicators, from perceived stress and burnout to health and work-life balance.

One manager, who took part in the initiative, remarked: "I work less … For me it is like a gift from the heavens. And I like it a lot".

"The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times, but that progressive change is possible too," said Gudmundur D Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.

"The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times, but that progressive change is possible too," said Gudmundur D Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.

"The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times, but that progressive change is possible too," said Gudmundur D Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.

"The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times, but that progressive change is possible too," said Gudmundur D Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.

Posted 22 hours ago22 hours agoShare

More on:

Trials of a four-day working week in Iceland have been lauded an "overwhelming success", with research revealing the initiative helped increase productivity, and led to an overall improvement in workers' wellbeing.

Key points:

  • As part of the trials, employees from a range of professions moved to a 35- or 36-hour working week, but received the same pay
  • Despite concerns a shorter working week would unintentionally lead to overwork, the results of the trials "directly contradict this", the report found
  • About 86 per cent of Iceland’s entire working population has "now either moved to working shorter hours or have gained the right to shorten their working hours"

The trials, run by Reykjavík City Council and the Icelandic government, were held between 2015 and 2019, and ultimately included more than 2,500 workers [en.alda.is] — or about one per cent of Iceland's working population.

As part of the project, employees from a range of professions — including offices, kindergartens, social service providers and hospitals — moved from a 40-hour working week, to a 35- or 36-hour working week, but received the same pay.

Research into the trials, published this month by researchers from the UK think tank Autonomy and Iceland's Association for Sustainable Democracy (Alda) [autonomy.work], noted that following the trials' success, trade unions "achieved permanent reductions in working hours for tens of thousands of their members across the country".

In total, roughly 86 per cent of Iceland’s entire working population has "now either moved to working shorter hours or have gained the right to shorten their working hours", the report found, adding that such reductions were won in contracts negotiated between 2019 and 2021.

"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," said Will Stronge, director of research at Autonomy.

"It shows that the public sector is ripe for being a pioneer of shorter working weeks – and lessons can be learned for other governments."

'Like a gift from the heavens'

Despite concerns a shorter working week would unintentionally lead to overwork, the results of the trials "directly contradict this", the report found. [autonomy.work]

Rather, a reduction in working hours led to staff working less as a "direct result" of workplaces implementing new work strategies, while productivity and service provision "remained the same or improved across the majority of trial workplaces".

"Organisation was key to working less — and the reward of reduced hours provoked people to organise their work more efficiently — with changes made to how meetings were run, as well as schedules, and in some cases to opening hours," the report noted.

"In some instances, meetings were avoided by instead sending emails or exchanging information electronically."

The trials also resulted in a marked improvement in worker wellbeing, which increased across a range of indicators, from perceived stress and burnout to health and work-life balance.

One manager, who took part in the initiative, remarked: "I work less … For me it is like a gift from the heavens. And I like it a lot".

"The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times, but that progressive change is possible too," said Gudmundur D Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.

"The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times, but that progressive change is possible too," said Gudmundur D Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.

"The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times, but that progressive change is possible too," said Gudmundur D Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.

"The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times, but that progressive change is possible too," said Gudmundur D Haraldsson, a researcher at Alda.

Posted 22 hours ago22 hours agoShare

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