28+ countries with 4-day week initiatives
Countries with a 4 Day Work Week
Although no country has officially adopted a 4-day work week nationwide, many are leading the way through government-backed pilots, progressive legislation, and growing employer adoption.
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Click a highlighted country to learn about their 4-day work week initiatives
The 4-Day Work Week by Country, Compared
No country has legislated a nationwide four-day week yet, but dozens are moving toward shorter hours through government-backed pilots, right-to-request laws, and strong reduced-hours cultures. See how the leading countries compare on average working hours, statutory paid leave, and government support.
| Country | Avg hours/week | Statutory leave | Government support | 4-day-week policy | Open jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 38.2 hrs | None | Limited Govt. Support | Federal workweek bill proposed · state bills | 18,555 |
| United Kingdom | 36.3 hrs | 28 days | Limited Govt. Support | No 4-day week law · right to request flexible hours | 3,522 (185 on a 4-day week) |
| Canada | — | 10 days | Limited Govt. Support | Right to request · federal only | 1,926 |
| Germany | 34.5 hrs | 20 days | No Govt. Position | No national law · 2024 pilot | 651 |
| Ireland | 36 hrs | 20 days | Limited Govt. Support | Right to request flexible hours · 2022 pilot | 564 |
| Brazil | 39.5 hrs | 22 days | Moderate Govt. Support | Working-time amendment passed · 2024 pilot | 459 |
| Australia | 35.4 hrs | 20 days | No Govt. Position | No national law · 2022-23 pilot | 430 |
| France | 36.9 hrs | 25 days | Limited Govt. Support | No 4-day law · voluntary pilot | 372 |
| Spain | 37.5 hrs | 22 days | Strong Govt. Support | No national law · bill rejected in 2025 | 350 |
| Japan | 37.5 hrs | 10 days | Moderate Govt. Support | No national law · Tokyo public-sector option | 261 |
| Poland | 39.9 hrs | 20 days | Strong Govt. Support | Government pilot · No national law | 248 |
| Netherlands | 31.3 hrs | 20 days | Moderate Govt. Support | Right to request fewer hours | 221 |
| Portugal | 40 hrs | 22 days | Moderate Govt. Support | No national law · 2023 pilot | 202 |
| Philippines | — | 5 days | Limited Govt. Support | Temporary public-sector 4-day order | 167 |
| Switzerland | 35.7 hrs | 20 days | Limited Govt. Support | No national scheme · pilot study | 127 |
| United Arab Emirates | — | — | Strong Govt. Support | Public-sector shorter week | 106 |
| Sweden | 37.3 hrs | 25 days | Limited Govt. Support | No national law · 2024-25 pilot | 98 |
| South Korea | 39.4 hrs | 15 days | Strong Govt. Support | Voluntary 4.5-day week schemes · no law | 65 |
| Chile | 39.8 hrs | 15 days | Moderate Govt. Support | Phased hours law · compressed 4-day option | 58 |
| Austria | 35.6 hrs | 25 days | Limited Govt. Support | No national law · pilots planned | 49 |
| Norway | 34.6 hrs | 21 days | Limited Govt. Support | No national law · small pilots | 42 |
| South Africa | 42.3 hrs | 15 days | No Govt. Position | No national law · 2023 pilot | 40 |
| Denmark | 33.3 hrs | 25 days | Limited Govt. Support | No national law · municipal compressed-week trials | 39 |
| Belgium | 36 hrs | 20 days | Moderate Govt. Support | Right to request a compressed 4-day week | 33 |
| New Zealand | 37.6 hrs | 20 days | No Govt. Position | No national law · company trials | 30 |
| Lithuania | 39 hrs | — | Limited Govt. Support | Public-sector shorter week for young parents | 21 |
| Finland | 35.6 hrs | 25 days | Limited Govt. Support | No 4-day law · flexible working-time rules | 10 |
| Iceland | 37.4 hrs | 24 days | Strong Govt. Support | No national law · union-won shorter hours | 6 |
Europe
17 countries
Austria
No national law or scheme. The 2025 government programme lists supervised 4-day-week pilots, and researchers plan a test of shorter hours.
Belgium
Partly. Since 2022 full-time employees can ask to fit their hours into four longer days. That is compressed hours, not a shorter week.
Denmark
No national scheme. Some Danish municipalities let staff compress their usual hours into four days, and a few workplaces have made that permanent.
Finland
No. Finland has no four-day week law. Its Working Time Act allows flexible hours by agreement, and Sanna Marin's 2019 four-day idea was not government policy.
France
Not as a national right: France's legal week is 35 hours, and a voluntary 4-day pilot has so far involved about 20 organisations.
Germany
No national law or scheme. 41 organisations completed a shorter-week pilot in 2024, and most later kept some form of reduced hours.
Iceland
Shorter hours, not a four-day week: after public-sector trials, union contracts gave about 86% of workers shorter hours or a way to negotiate them (2021 report).
Ireland
No 4-day week law, but parents and carers can request reduced or flexible hours, and Irish firms joined a 2022 pilot.
Lithuania
No general 4-day week, but some public-sector employees with a child under 3 can work a shorter week with their pay kept.
Netherlands
No national 4-day week, but employees can ask to cut their hours by law, and nearly half of employed people work under 35 hours a week.
Norway
No national law or scheme. Two Norwegian organisations joined a 2024-25 pilot and two kindergartens tested a 30-hour week, with positive but limited findings.
Poland
No 4-day week law, but a Labour Ministry pilot has 80-90 employers testing shorter hours without pay cuts through 2026; final reports are due by May 2027.
Portugal
No national law, but a 2023 pilot under the Labour Ministry covered 41 companies, and only four had returned to a five-day week by its end.
Spain
No. Spain has no 4-day week law, and Congress rejected a bill to cut the legal week to 37.5 hours in September 2025.
Sweden
No national law. A 2024-25 pilot of nine Swedish and two Norwegian organisations tested the 100:80:100 model; ten of the eleven chose to continue a shorter week.
Switzerland
No national law or scheme. A Bern University of Applied Sciences study of a 4-day week is due to present first results on 19 November 2026.
United Kingdom
No UK law gives a right to a four-day week or creates a three-day week. Some employers and public bodies run shorter weeks voluntarily.
North America
2 countries
Canada
No national 4-day week or law. Federally regulated employees can ask to change their hours; Ontario's 2022 4-day-week bill lapsed after first reading.
United States
No US law gives a right to a four-day week, and a 32-hour workweek bill introduced in September 2026 has been referred to committee.
Asia
4 countries
Japan
No national law or right, but Tokyo's metropolitan government has let its staff take a three-day weekend since April 2025, working the same total hours.
Philippines
No law. A presidential order told some executive offices to work four days onsite from 9 March 2026 to save energy; private firms need voluntary agreement.
South Korea
No law gives a 4-day or 4.5-day week, but the government now funds voluntary schemes: 224 firms had joined its 2026 subsidy programme by the end of June.
United Arab Emirates
Mainly in government: federal staff work a 4.5-day week and Sharjah's government a 4-day week; private-sector rules still set 8 hours a day or 48 a week.
Oceania
2 countries
Australia
No national 4-day week or law. 10 Australian firms were among 26 in a 2022-23 Australasia pilot; unions and the Greens want shorter hours.
New Zealand
No national 4-day week or law. Perpetual Guardian trialled one in 2018, and 9 NZ firms joined the 2022-23 Australasia pilot.
South America
2 countries
Brazil
No 4-day week law, but a constitutional amendment promulgated on 16 October 2026 phases the maximum week down from 44 to 40 hours with two rest days.
Chile
No 4-day week law, but Law 21.561 cuts the legal week in stages (42 hours since April 2026, 40 from 2028); once on 40 hours it can be worked over four days.
Africa
1 country
Frequently asked questions
Which countries have a 4-day work week?
No country has adopted a 4-day work week nationwide by law, but many are leading through government-backed pilots and progressive policy. Iceland, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, South Africa and Australia have all run major trials, and 4 Day Week Global has coordinated pilots across dozens of countries.
Which country has the shortest working week?
The Netherlands has one of the shortest average working weeks in the world (around 29-30 hours), followed by other Northern European countries such as Denmark, Norway and Germany, where shorter full-time hours and strong flexible-working cultures keep averages low.
Is the 4-day work week required by law anywhere?
Not as a full-pay national mandate. Belgium gives employees the right to request a compressed four-day week (the same hours across four days), and Iceland moved most public-sector staff to shorter hours after successful trials, but no country legally mandates a 32-hour week at full pay.
Which countries have run 4-day work week trials?
The UK ran the largest four-day-week trial in the world (61 companies, around 2,900 staff), with most keeping the four-day week afterwards. Iceland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the US and Canada have also run coordinated pilots, most reporting steady or higher output alongside significant wellbeing gains.
Do 4-day work week jobs pay a full salary?
In the leading pilots, including the UK and Iceland, staff work a four-day, roughly 32-hour week for 100% of their pay. On 4dayweek.io a plain 4-day week is listed at 100% salary, roles at 80% pay are labelled pro-rata, and on other reduced-hours schedules pay is set by each employer, so check the listing.