Oh boy, the world is going crazy for the 4-day workweek! Ireland, Spain, and the UK are just a few of the countries that have hopped on board the 4-day workweek train, and the results are looking super positive. Those UK trial participants reported boosted morale, culture, and productivity, and those personal days really helped reduce burnout. No one has fully taken on the 4-day schedule yet, but we’ve got a few countries that are experimenting with it.

Let’s start with South Africa. This place is poppin’ with its 4-day workweek trial, woot! More than 500 happy employees at 28 different companies are participating in the trial, which lasts from March to September. Karen Lowe, the director of 4 Day Week South Africa, is feeling pretty darn good about it. They’re using the 100-80-100 model, where everyone receives 100% of their pay while working 80% of the time but still delivering 100% of their usual output. Pretty clever, amirite?

Next up, we’ve got Belgium. They’ve got this new law in effect where workers can trade in their fifth day of work for another day of leisure, heyyy! This law was announced in 2022 and put in place in November of the same year. Workers are expected to work the same amount of hours, but just squished into four longer days. Employers can still reject this request but must give a legit reason why, in writing. Alexander de Croo, Belgium Prime Minister, says they’re just trying to give people and companies some freedom to organize their time, and we can all get behind that.

Iceland, oh Iceland, you’re always on our mind. Back between 2015 to 2019, they had a massive 4-day workweek trial with nearly 2,500 participants, and it was an absolute hit! Improved well-being, productivity, and work-life balance? Sign us up! Nowadays, almost 90% of the Icelandic workforce is represented by unions that allow them to request shorter workweeks, but uptake in private businesses seems to be slow. Come on, employers, don’t be a dud- let your employees thrive with those extra days off!

Lastly, we’ve got Japan spicing things up with their 4-day workweek trial. They’re currently testing out a shorter workweek with Microsoft Japan, and apparently, it’s been quite successful so far, according to Business Insider. However, it’s still a bit early to tell if this trend will stick around in Japan or not, but we’re rooting for it!

So there you have it, folks, the world is ready for a 3-day weekend party. It’s a work in progress, but we’ll get there eventually. Stay tuned!

Serious News: cnbc