A Simple Way To Make Workers Happier

The pandemic has changed the idea of work-life balance, so what better time to re-evaluate the working week? Iceland is ahead of the game. For four years, starting in 2015, 2500 workers (about one per cent of the country’s work force) reduced their 40-hour work week by four or five hours while still receiving the same pay.

Researchers found that, unsurprisingly, the workers – drawn from hospitals, preschools and offices – were happier and less stressed. They were also just as productive. Nearly 90 per cent of Iceland’s workforce now work fewer hours. Similar initiatives are being considered in New Zealand and Spain, while politicians in Japan and California have proposed testing it.