Reduction of working hours in Iceland considered a resounding success

From the tests it appears that workers’ well-being has increased “dramatically” on a number of indicatorsFrom perceived stress and burnout to health and work-life balance.

The results published by the Autonomy group and the research organization of the Association for Sustainable Democracy (Alda), described as “overwhelming success”, show that the majority of employees they didn’t have to work more overtime, with shorter meetings and the elimination of unnecessary tasks, which helped workers comply with the new regime.

At the same time, the reduction in working time has not resulted in any decrease in productivity or service delivery instead, they remained as they were when the average work schedule was 40 hours.

“In both trials, many workers said that after starting to work fewer hours they felt better, with more energy and less stress, which allowed them to have more energy for other activities, such as exercise, friends and leisure, ”says the published report, which had a direct impact on “a positive effect on their work”.

Since the tests were carried out, around 86 percent of Icelandic workers switched to a shorter work week, and trial researchers hope that these initiatives can also be applied in other countries.

The only Latin American country to study a similar measure is Chile. However, the bill being analyzed seeks to reduce the working day to 40 hours per week as a first step already 38 in the fifth year of its implementation, when the current working day is 45 hours per week.