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The Dutch are quietly shifting towards a four-day work week

The Netherlands serves as a case study for the advantages and trade-offs of reduced hours in the workplace

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    • People ride their bikes down the street in Dokkum, the Netherlands. It has become increasingly common for full-time workers in the country to compress their hours into four days rather than spread them over five.
    • People ride their bikes down the street in Dokkum, the Netherlands. It has become increasingly common for full-time workers in the country to compress their hours into four days rather than spread them over five. PHOTO: AFP

    Sarah O'Connor

    Published Tue, Aug 26, 2025 · 08:00 PM

    TO THE proponents of a four-day week, there is almost no problem in modern life which the idea cannot solve – or at least ameliorate. Burnout? Tick. Gender inequality? Tick. Unemployment? Tick. Carbon emissions? Tick.

    Conversely, opponents see only problems: reduced economic output; damaged business competitiveness; strained public services; a weakened work ethic.

    But rather than argue over these predictions, or nitpick over the results of trials in individual businesses, why not look to the country that has already gone a long way down this road, without the rest of the world really noticing?

    Work-Life BalanceWork CultureNetherlands

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