Portugal’s Government-backed 4 day week positive trial results
The first results of a government-funded 4 day week pilot programme in Portugal were published this week, with 95% of companies rating the experience positively.
Workers also favoured the new schedule, with 85% of them saying they’d require more than a 20% pay increase to return to five days.
The study includes 41 Portuguese companies that shortened the working week, 21 of which coordinated the start of a six-month trial in June. The trial was run in partnership with international non-profit, 4 Day Week Global, with the research jointly conducted by Henley Business School and Birkbeck, University of London. More than 1,000 workers in these companies reduced their work time by 13.7%.
In 58.5% of companies, workers had one day off per week, while 41.5% of companies opted for a nine-day fortnight. After four months, the organisations rated the overall trial an average of 7.7/10.
As for the workers’ experience, within three months, the frequency of negative mental health symptoms decreased significantly, with anxiety falling by 21%, fatigue dropping by 23%, and insomnia or sleep problems reducing by 19%.
The percentage of workers who struggled with balancing work and family responsibilities fell from 46% to a remarkable 8%, while almost two thirds (65%) of workers spent more time with their families after the reduction in working hours.