South Korea’s incoming president Yoon Suk-yeol had made headlines with his controversial remarks about 120-hour work weeks. His comment, which opposes outgoing president Moon Jae-in’s 52-hour work week policy, was one of the hottest discussion points leading up to last March’s presidential election. His remarks come at a time when the rest of the industrialized world considers cutting down to four working days. The four-day work week movement has been gaining momentum in recent years as a number of countries have successfully tested its implementation.

Cutting down on working hours is not new. Nearly a century ago, Henry Ford, the automotive industry mogul and business magnate, shocked the world by announcing that his company would reduce working days from six to five, with no salary cuts. Compared to workers who had to endure 60-hour work weeks in other organizations, employees only had to work for 40 hours in Ford Motor Company, which some deemed as counterintuitive and less productive. However, based on years of experiments, Ford was sure that five work days would have the same level of productivity, if not higher, as six working days. He theorized that a person who spends excruciatingly long hours at the office is lethargic and would only have time to think of their basic needs like food and sleep; to go beyond primitive needs and be productive, one needs some free time beyond laboring hours. Having more time on one’s hands leads to increased performance and better trade within a society.

A century later, many companies and countries are planning on taking a similar initiative as Mr. Ford by cutting down working hours. In the years between 2015 and 2019, Iceland ran one of the longest experiments on implementing four-day work weeks, which in their case amounted to a 36-hour work week, and found that it led to less stress and burnout without compromising the quality of production. Consequently, around 86% of Ireland’s workers now have a four-day work week or have the right to request for it. Belgium has also passed laws giving employees the right to complete a full work week in four days without salary deductions. However, this doesn’t imply that employees will be working less. In fact, full-time employees might have to work beyond the usual eight-hour work shift in order to compensate for the extra day-off. The prime minister of Belgium, Alexander de Croo, stated that the goal of these changes is to provide workers and employers with more freedom in arranging their work time. He also stated that the changes are expected to bring more dynamics into the country’s economy. Similarly, the UK is set to launch a six-month-long experiment this June, and so far as many as 60 companies with around 3,000 workers have joined the call.

Why is the four-day work week suddenly grabbing headlines? One reason is that the COVID-19 pandemic has set an increasing preference for flexibility and adaptability of the workplace. And major social disruption such as the pandemic tends to magnify calls for changes in “deeply embedded societal and cultural norms”. The increased awareness about mental health contributes to calls for a four-day work week as well. In addition, it was shown that due to the changed nature of work, people usually work for longer than they used to a couple of years ago. In a study conducted in 13 countries, it was found that “leakiness” of work often led to a decreasing amount of actual free time.

The four-day work week challenges the existing work culture as it focuses more on productivity and measurable output rather than fixed working schedules. If implemented properly, as in the case of Iceland, it could lead to innovative and optimized working environments, improved mental health for employees, a more dynamic economy and has implications on the environment too. For instance, the UK alone can reduce its carbon footprint by 21.3%, or 127 million tonnes per year if it decides to adopt the new system. Considering its success so far, calls for a four-day work week are expected only to increase.