Ireland is at the forefront of the four-day workweek

Irish Post

3 days ago

AS global work cultures change in the wake of the COVID pandemic, Ireland is quietly becoming a trailblazer in a new workplace movement: the four-day workweek.
This is all according to a major international study recently published in Nature Human Behaviour
The landmark study, led by researchers at Boston College and the University of Cambridge and including Irish social policy expert Professor Orla Kelly of UCD, analysed the effects of reduced working hours across six English-speaking countries: the USA, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and notably, Ireland.
Across 141 companies and nearly 2,900 workers, a consistent pattern emerged: fewer working hours led to better physical and mental health and stronger job satisfaction.
In fact, workers who had their weekly hours reduced by eight or more reported the most substantial gains, including improved sleep, reduced stress, and more time for exercise, hobbies, and family.
The message from the data is clear—less is more.
What sets Ireland apart in this global push is its early and enthusiastic involvement. 'Irish companies were actually among the first cohort to participate in the trials,' said Professor Wen Fan, the study's lead author and a sociologist at Boston College.
Of the 16 companies in the pilot's initial phase in February 2022, 12 were Irish.
The Forsa trade union played a key role, reflecting a growing national interest in modernising the way we work.
Professor Kelly, who was central to the study, noted that most companies that trialled the four-day week chose to make it permanent.
'Organizations' choice to keep this new working model supports employees' subjective assessment of productivity gains,' she explained.
In other words, employees feel more productive, and the companies agree.
One of the most telling aspects of the study was its international scope, which allowed for cross-country comparisons.
It showed that the well-being benefits were consistent regardless of geography.
As Prof. Fan put it, 'The well-being effects are fairly uniform across companies, across nations, and across employees.'
This reinforces the idea that the success of the four-day week is not culturally bound or industry-specific—it's a flexible model with broad potential.
Still, the study doesn't ignore the practical challenges.
Most participating organisations were in sectors like IT, telecoms, and administration, where workflows are more easily adapted.
The next frontier, researchers argue, is testing the model in sectors like healthcare, retail, and manufacturing, where output is harder to quantify.
Professor Kelly believes government involvement will be key to achieving this.
'A good first step would be for the government to provide support for a trial among these sectors to better understand how this opportunity to work less for the same pay can be universalised,' she said.
The study also raises broader questions about Ireland's role in shaping the future of work.
With countries like Spain and Belgium already legislating changes to the traditional five-day model, Ireland's early participation in trials positions it as a leader—and perhaps even a model—for a future that values work-life balance as much as productivity.
Critics may point out the limitations of the research—self-reported data and voluntary participation by companies already inclined to innovate.
But as Professor Brendan Burchell of the University of Cambridge said, this study is a 'blockbuster' that offers some of the strongest evidence yet for rethinking our work structures.
'These four-day week studies have been taking off since the pandemic, when people had much more imagination about how things could be different.'