江蘇 趙 娟

Trials of a four-day working week conducted in Iceland between 2015 and 2019 were a great success,say researchers from UK think tank Autonomy and Iceland's Association for Sustainable Democracy(Alda).

The trials,run by Reykjavík City Council and the national government,included more than 2,500 workers,which accounts for about 1% of Iceland's working population.Many employees moved from a 40-hour week to a 35-or 36-hour week,but were paid the same salary they previously received for 40 hours.Productivity remained the same or even improved in the majority of workplaces,according to the researchers.And workers said they felt less stressed and at risk of burnout,and reported improvements in their health and work-life balance.

“Working hours in most countries have been falling over the last 50-100 years,”notes Peter Dolton in his IZA World of Labor article.“Drivers of this change include changing demand conditions,active pressure from employee trade unions,technological advances improving workplace productivity,and some other factors.”

The Icelandic trials have led unions in the country to renegotiate（重新商定）working patterns,with 86% of Iceland's workforce now having either moved to shorter hours for the same pay,or due to gain the right to.

Gudmundur D.Haraldsson,a researcher at Alda,said,“The Icelandic shorter working week journey tells us that not only is it possible to work less in modern times,but that progressive change is possible too.”

Similar trials are also ongoing in Spain,in part as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,and in New Zealand,where the company Unilever is giving staff the opportunity to cut their hours by 20% with out reducing their pay.

Dolton says,“Key challenges such as increasing life expectancy,aging populations,and inadequate（不足的）savings and pensions（養(yǎng)老金）mean that governments need to take a careful look at working patterns...” He believes that “Modern economies need changeable and practical labor markets with variable working times across occupations and sectors”if they are to face an increasingly technologically-driven future.

Reading Check

What factors does Dolton mention when it comes to working patterns?

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