February 10, 2026
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4-Day Work Week Trials: Which Countries Are Leading the Change?

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So you've heard the buzz. A four-day work week. It sounds like a fantasy, a distant future of work. But here's the thing: it's not theory anymore. It's happening right now, in real countries, with real companies and real employees. The question isn't just which country has a 4-day work week trial, but which ones are making it stick, what they're learning, and whether this could actually be the new normal. Forget the fluffy think-pieces. We're going to map the global experiments, dig into the hard data, and show you what a shorter workweek really looks like on the ground.

I've been tracking this movement for years, watching it evolve from a fringe idea to a serious policy discussion. The most interesting part isn't the headline-grabbing announcements—it's the messy, practical details of how it actually works. Or sometimes, doesn't.

The Global Pilot Map: Where the 4-Day Week is Being Tested

Let's get specific. This isn't one country doing one thing. It's a patchwork of experiments, each with its own flavor. Some are government-led, some are driven by non-profits, and others are just brave companies going it alone.

Country Nature of the Trial Scale & Key Details Reported Outcome
Iceland Public Sector & Large-Scale Pilot 2,500+ workers (1% of workforce). Trials ran from 2015-2019. Focus on care workers, office staff, hospitals. The big one. Productivity maintained or improved in majority of workplaces. Stress, burnout dropped. Led to permanent reductions for 86% of workforce.
United Kingdom Coordinated Non-Profit Pilot 61 companies, ~2,900 workers. 6-month trial in 2022 run by 4 Day Week Global, Autonomy, think-tanks. 71% of workers reported less burnout. Revenue rose slightly (avg 1.4%). A staggering 92% of companies continued the policy post-trial.
Spain Government-Subsidized Pilot A €10 million national pilot launched in 2023. ~200 mid-sized companies can apply for subsidies to test 4-day week with no pay cut. Ongoing. Designed to last 3 years. Aims to gather robust data on productivity and quality of life. One of the most significant state-backed experiments.
Japan Government Recommendation & Corporate Pilots National 2021 economic policy urged companies to offer 4-day weeks. Adopted by giants like Microsoft Japan (saw 40% productivity boost) and Panasonic. Mixed. Driven by demographics (aging population, need for care) and overwork culture. Uptake is slow but growing, especially in tech and large corporates.
South Africa Private Sector Leadership No national trial, but pioneering companies like The Brave Group (a marketing firm) have implemented it permanently since 2020. Shows model can work in developing economies. Company reports higher talent attraction, lower turnover, and sustained client service levels.

You'll notice a pattern. The most cited, successful trials—Iceland and the UK—weren't about working four 10-hour days. That's just a compressed schedule, and it burns people out. The real model is 100:80:100. 100% of the pay, for 80% of the time, in exchange for 100% (or more) of the output.

That last part is where most managers get stuck. How do you get the same output in less time?

"The Iceland trial was successful because it wasn't just a mandate. It was a process of work reorganization. Workers and managers together identified and eliminated low-value tasks, pointless meetings, and bureaucratic clutter. The time reduction was the goal, but the process of getting there is what drove efficiency."

Lesser-Known but Critical Experiments

Beyond the big names, smaller trials are revealing nuances.

Portugal launched a trial for small and medium-sized enterprises in 2023. The twist? It's fully voluntary and includes micro-companies, which face unique challenges with coverage. Belgium took a different legal route in 2022, giving employees the right to request a four-day week, but it allows for the compressed schedule (four 10-hour days), which many labor experts criticize as missing the point.

Then there's the United States. No federal trial exists, but the momentum is bottom-up. Non-profit 4 Day Week Global runs cohorts that US companies join. Tech firms, PR agencies, and even a handful of manufacturers are trying it. The results mirror the UK's: happier employees, better hiring, and stable productivity. The barrier here isn't evidence; it's corporate culture and the deeply ingrained belief that hours equal commitment.

What "Success" Really Looks Like: It's Not About Working Faster

If you think a four-day week means everyone just types 25% faster, you've missed the plot. The productivity gains come from systemic changes, not individual heroics.

From analyzing dozens of trial reports, the levers are consistent:

The Meeting Purge. This is the biggest time sink. Companies that succeed mandate shorter meetings (25 minutes instead of 60), require clear agendas, and ask "Could this be an async update?" One UK tech company in the trial cut meeting time by 65%.

Asynchronous Communication Default. The constant ping of Slack and emails fractures focus. Successful teams batch communication, use project management tools (like Asana or ClickUp) as a single source of truth, and respect deep work blocks.

Ruthless Prioritization. With only four days, you can't do everything. Teams get better at saying no to low-impact projects. They focus on the 20% of work that drives 80% of the results. This is a muscle most organizations have never developed.

The data from the UK pilot, analyzed by researchers from Cambridge University and Boston College, was telling. Companies didn't just maintain performance. Measures of customer service, work quality, and even minor revenue growth held steady or improved. Employee well-being metrics, however, went through the roof. Stress, anxiety, and fatigue plummeted. Sleep improved. People had time for family, hobbies, and chores.

That last point is crucial. The benefit isn't just a three-day weekend. It's having a life on a weekday. Doctor's appointments, grocery shopping, waiting for the plumber—all that life admin that normally eats into your weekend or requires taking a half-day. That gets done on Friday, freeing the weekend for actual rest and leisure.

A Reality Check: It's not all perfect. Some roles, particularly client-facing ones with rigid external schedules, struggle more. Coverage can be a puzzle. The trials show it requires more intentional planning and sometimes, a shift in client expectations. A company that successfully made the switch told me their secret was being upfront with key clients: "We told them our team is sharper, happier, and more focused Monday to Thursday. We deliver the same or better results. But we are offline on Fridays." Most clients adapted.

How a Company Actually Makes the Switch: A Blueprint

Let's say you're convinced and want to pilot this at your company. How do you start? Based on the playbooks from 4 Day Week Global and case studies, here's the non-negotiable sequence.

First, define your metrics. What does "maintained productivity" mean for your sales team? For your software developers? For your customer support? Is it revenue, lines of code, resolved tickets, client satisfaction scores? You must measure this before the trial to have a baseline.

Second, redesign processes, not just schedules. For 3 months before the trial, run "efficiency workshops." Map out where time is wasted. Audit every recurring meeting. Look at email chains. This is the hard, unsexy work that makes the four-day week possible.

Third, pilot with a clear timeframe. A 6-month pilot is the sweet spot. It's long enough to work through kinks and see real results, but short enough to be a reversible experiment. Communicate this clearly to everyone: "We are trying this for 6 months. We will measure X, Y, Z. Your pay remains 100%. We will then decide."

Fourth, get expert support. This isn't a DIY project for most. Organizations like 4 Day Week Global provide a framework, training, and a community of other companies doing the same thing. The UK pilot's high success rate is partly attributed to this structured support.

I spoke to the CEO of a 50-person design firm that went through this. His biggest surprise? "The middle managers were the heroes. They had to be the translators, figuring out how to reshape their team's workflows. We gave them extra coaching, and that made all the difference."

Your Burning Questions, Answered

Let's cut through the noise and get to the practical questions people are really asking.

Which country's 4-day work week trial is considered the most successful and why? Iceland's trials, running from 2015 to 2019, are widely regarded as the most influential success story. They weren't short-term pilots but large-scale, long-term studies involving over 2,500 workers. The key was a focus on 'work reorganization'—not just squeezing five days of work into four. Participants and managers collaborated to cut meetings, streamline emails, and eliminate low-value tasks. The result wasn't just maintained productivity; it often increased. Worker well-being soared, with reduced stress and burnout. This comprehensive, worker-centric approach set the gold standard, proving the model's viability in the public sector.
As a small business owner in the US, can I join a formal 4-day work week trial? There's no nationwide, government-backed trial in the US, but you're not out of options. The non-profit 4 Day Week Global runs coordinated pilot programs that US companies can join. They provide a structured framework, including training, mentorship from past participants, and academic research support to measure outcomes. Many US tech startups and marketing agencies have pioneered it independently. The real trick isn't finding a trial; it's designing your own. Start with a 3-6 month pilot, measure productivity by output (not hours), and be prepared to ruthlessly cut inefficient processes. The biggest mistake is assuming you can just work four 10-hour days—that's a compressed schedule, not a reduced workweek.
What's the biggest hidden challenge companies face during a 4-day work week pilot? The silent killer is meeting culture. Most companies don't realize how much time is wasted in poorly run, unnecessary meetings until they try to fit work into four days. A successful trial forces a complete meeting audit: shortening stand-ups, making agendas mandatory, and asking 'Could this be an email or a shared document?' Another underrated challenge is client and customer expectations. If your industry operates on a standard five-day week, you need a clear communication strategy. This might involve setting clearer boundaries ('Our team is offline Fridays') or staggering days off across the company to ensure coverage. The technical implementation is easy; the cultural and client-facing shifts are hard.
Do employees usually get paid the same for a 4-day work week? In almost all the major, well-publicized trials, the model is 100:80:100—100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for 100% of the productivity. This is the cornerstone of the modern movement. The deal is based on output, not hours. However, there's a variant, often seen in manufacturing or some European models, called the 'compressed workweek,' where you work four 10-hour days for the same pay. That's a different concept focused on shift scheduling, not productivity gains. When researching a company's policy, this is the crucial distinction to look for. The transformative trials promising better work-life balance are built on the 100:80:100 principle.

The landscape is moving fast. What started as a question—which country has a 4-day work week trial—has exploded into a global laboratory for the future of work. The evidence is shifting from "if it can work" to "how to make it work best." The countries and companies leading aren't just giving people a day off. They're forcing a long-overdue conversation about what work actually is, what's valuable, and how we can build jobs that don't burn people out. That, more than the extra day, might be the most lasting change of all.