Shorter working weeks in Iceland!

We are not bound by any natural law to spend a specific amount of time at work. History shows that new development and inclusion of more people have reduced the work hours and burden. Working short hours and days is the dream of workers which seems to become possible with the introduction and trials of the shorter working week policy, which will allow the workers to work for shorter hours without a salary reduction.

A shorter working week is a proposal of working 4 days a week and enjoy the weekend of 3 days and it has been implemented in few countries. Working 4 days a week does not mean compressing work schedule or reducing salary. It is just reduced hours where workers can effectively complete their weekly tasks and spend the remaining days with family or taking care of themselves.

Iceland conducted two worlds largest 4-day working week trials from 2015 to 2019. The working hours were reduced to 35-36 hours without pay reduction. The first experiment included 2500 workers while the second trial included 440 making 1 % of the Iceland workforce take part in this trial. The council in Reykjavik the capital of Iceland and the national government initiated it to improve the economy of the country. The trial has been proved an overwhelming success and a large number of workers who participated in this trial succeeded in securing contracts to lessen their working hours.

The trial included normal 9-5 workers and also workers with no specified shift patterns and chosen workplaces varied from offices, playschools, social services providers to the hospitals. Autonomy and Alda’s analysis show that reducing working hours actually increased productivity and quality of work. The data collected from trials indicate that participants showed improved work-life balance and mental health conditions. This is because the workers got more time and found it easier to do household chores and took out time for themselves which eventually improved their life removing stress.

The anxiety and depression of workers went considerably down. People were given more time for their passions, hobbies, families which make them committed to both work and personal life. The managers and staff both declare the trial a huge success.

Various time reduction strategies have been used in workplaces to accommodate the shorter working hours to avoid any malfunctioning. For example, prioritizing tasks intelligently, brief but focussed meetings, and communication through emails. The success of the trial also has put trade unions of Iceland to negotiate for reducing working hours permanently.

Other governments of the world are also considering the idea of adopting the shorter working week to develop their economies and to overcome the ever-increasing trend of depression and stress among workers. Spain is one such country to follow the pursuit of Iceland and its government has announced that it would test the 32 hours per week strategy without cutting workers’ compensation.

• Shorter working hours will protect the environment when industries and factories will remain closed for three weeks.
• In this pandemic situation, where work from home is new normal reducing the working hour is a good method to prevent the spread of the virus.
• If managed properly and focussing on crucial areas more, this time strategy can prove to be a boom in social and economic dependence of countries.