Work-life balance | Spain set to trial four-day work week

In early 2021, left-wing Spanish party Más País confirmed that the Government had accepted its proposal for a four-day working week trial – a concept which now looks to be imminent in its implementation, according to reports from The Guardian.

Whilst several small pilots of a four-day working week have been trialled around the world, the acceptance of the proposal by the Spanish Government now looks to be the largest wide-scale trial of the concept.

A meeting to finalise the plans and implementation of the four-day week trial are expected to take place in the coming weeks. Confirming the move, Más País member Iñigo Errejón took to Twitter to proclaim that “it’s an idea whose time has come” and that “with the four-day work week (32 hours), we’re launching into the real debate of our times”.

Four-day work week ‘gaining traction’

Whilst the concept of a drastically shorter working week is far from new, reports from around the world, including endorsements from New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and German Chancellor Angela Merkel show that it’s gaining traction.