Does Spain Have A 4-Day Work Week? (Status: Stalled)
Does Spain have a 4-day work week?
No. Spain does not have a four-day work week. They have a well-funded, well-publicized plan to trial a four-day work week. The trial has not started.
Why are people talking about a 4-day work week in Spain?
The political party, Más País, included the four-day work week as part of it’s platform when it launched in 2019.
The party proposed a three-year trial of the four-day work week that was approved by the Spanish government in 2021. Although the pilot was supposed to launch in September of 2021, it has not started yet.
“Climate change obliges us to do things differently; we have to transform our way of working in order to reduce carbon emissions,” says Íñigo Errejón, party leader and member of parliament. “But how we work now is also not biologically or socially sustainable. European economies can’t compete with China to work more hours for less money. We should compete to work in better conditions.”
Íñigo Errejón, party leader and member of parliament – TIME
How many hours per week do people work in Spain?
The average work week in Spain is 25.9 hours.
In ranking countries from the shortest work week to the longest, Spain ranks 19 out of 187 countries tracked by OECD (90th percentile).
- 18 countries have a shorter work week than Spain
- 168 countries have a longer work week than Spain
The average work work is calculated by taking the total annual hours worked per year divided by the average number of people in employment per year, divided by 52 weeks. Therefore, the average work week includes hours for full-time, part-time, and self-employed people. It is not the standard work week for full-time employees.
Source: OECD (2022), Hours worked (indicator). doi: 10.1787/47be1c78-en
View the average work hours per week for every country.
Have any 4-day work week bills been proposed in Spain?
Yes (for a trial). The Spanish government has approved a three-year trial of a four-day work week for up to 200 companies (that will opt to participate). The trial was set to start in September of 2021, but no progress has been made.
Here are the original plans of the proposed pilot:
- €50 million in funding from the EU
- 200 companies would participated (6,000 employee)
- Three-year experiement
- Reduction to a 4-day, 32-hour work week (without a loss of pay)
Track every four-day work week bill around the world here.
Have there been any 4-day trials or studies done in Spain?
No. A trial is set to launch soon, but has missed its original start date of September 2021.
Other well-known four-day work week studies have taken place in Iceland (a country-wide study), and New Zealand through a private company called Perpetual Guardian.
A non-profit, 4 Day Week Global, runs just about every well-publicized four-day trial you’ve read about. Recent trials have occurred in the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland.
Track every four-day work week study here.
How many companies in Spain have a 4-day work week?
4 companies have implemented a four-day work week permanently in Spain. The first and most well-known four-day work week company in Spain is Software DELSOL.
This comes from Buildremote’s database of four-day work week companies, the most comprehensive list available.
Do you think our database is missing a company? Add a company here.
In which countries are the most 4-day companies located?
Right now, we have 177 four-day work week companies in our database across 20 countries. 38% of four-day work week companies are located in the United States, 36% are located in the United Kingdom, 7% are located in Canada. No other country takes more than a 3% share.
Here is an analysis of company adoption of the four-day work week by country.
View every country that has tested or implemented a four-day work week.
Learn more about the 4-day work week
I’ve personally run a four-day work week company since 2020. I’ve seen employee happiness and retention increase with no loss to productivity. Now I strive to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the four-day work week.
It seems that many individuals, companies, and countries are finally starting to question to standard, 40-hour work week for the first time in nearly a century. Follow along as we break down the trend.
