Policy · Active
Iceland
Trade unions secured shorter hours for 86% of the workforce after the 2015–19 trial.
Evidence from 60+ global trials · 2018 → 2026
Drop a day.
Keep the work. Keep the pay.
Keep your people.
Across sixty-plus pilots in fifteen countries, the result is the same: revenue holds, burnout falls, and ninety-two percent of companies don't go back. Here's the data, and a calculator to figure out what it would mean for you.
The old week
MTWTF
Productivity
100
Satisfaction
54%
The new week
MTWTF
Productivity
≥100
Satisfaction
78%
+22%
AVG. PRODUCTIVITY
−65%
SICK DAYS
−71%
BURNOUT
92%
COMPANIES STAYED
The Comparison
Drag the slider. Watch the numbers move.
Each metric below interpolates between the five-day baseline and the average four-day result reported across the UK, US/Ireland, South Africa, and Germany pilots.
Workweek
5
4
DAYDAY
Blend
A traditional five-day week.
meetings per week
18
hours of deep work
12
sick days per year
8.4
% reporting burnout
70%
% satisfied with work-life
54%
CO₂ commute index
100
The 4-Day Atlas · 2018 → 2026
One day off.
Sixty trials.
Fifteen countries.
A live atlas of every documented four-day workweek pilot since 2018. Hover a dot to see what they found. Coloured red where the trial was kept, grey where it was reversed.
18
documented trials
20.7K
workers in pilots
89%
kept the change
Continued Reversed Pilot size 80 → 3 000 workers
Boundaries · Natural Earth (public domain)
Timeline · A century of working hours
Every workweek was once unthinkable.
Until it wasn't.
1926
2018
2019
2021
2022
2023
2024
2026
2026
Belgium, Iceland, Spain pursue legislative paths; over 60 trials globally
Read on American Bar AssociationThe Calculator
What would your company save?
100
$85,000
Estimates based on UK Pilot turnover/absenteeism deltas, Microsoft Japan energy savings, and replacement cost ≈ 50% of annual salary. Indicative only.
Estimated annual savings
$936k
Reduced turnover $726,750
Fewer sick days $187,000
Lower energy & overhead $22,000
The Database
Every trial we found.
YR Trial Country Staff Prod.
Model
? Status
2024 Germany Trial Germany 900 +18% Various KEPT 2023 Portugal Pilot Portugal 1,000 +14% 100:80:100 KEPT 2023 South Africa Pilot South Africa 1,200 +49% 100:80:100 KEPT 2023 Exos USA 3,000 +35% You Do You KEPT 2022 UK Pilot (61 cos) United Kingdom 2,900 +22% 100:80:100 KEPT 2022 US/Ireland Pilot USA / Ireland 1,000 +15% 100:80:100 KEPT 2021 Spain Gov. Trial Spain 3,000 +20% 100:80:100 KEPT 2021 Kickstarter USA 90 +18% Permanent KEPT 2021 Bolt USA 600 +22% Reversed 2023 REVERSED 2021 Atom Bank United Kingdom 480 +25% 34h/4d KEPT 2021 Awin Germany 1,300 +13% Flexi KEPT 2020 Buffer USA 80 +25% Permanent KEPT 2020 Unilever NZ/AU New Zealand 80 +15% Expanded KEPT 2020 Elephant Ventures USA 41 +25% 4×10h KEPT 2019 Microsoft Japan Japan 2,300 +39.9% Aug pilot REVERSED 2019 Iceland Public Sector Iceland 2,500 +12% 35–36h KEPT 2018 Perpetual Guardian New Zealand 200 +20% Permanent KEPT 2017 Wildbit USA 30 +10% Permanent KEPT The Movement
It is no longer an experiment.
It is policy.
Policy · Active
Spain
Government-funded 3-year trial since 2021 — 200–400 SMEs participating.
Policy · Active
Belgium
Right to request a 4-day week became law in 2022.