Articles : Cities and Towns Across Canada Are Testing a Four-Day Work Week

A four-day workweek seems to be going quite well among some cities and towns across Canada, according to a recent article in Narcity.

The municipality of Guysborough in Nova Scotia started testing out the four-day workweek back in 2020, with 60 employees either taking Monday or Friday off every week.

The pilot project ended this April of 2021 and councillors have approved to keep the shorter schedule in place, with plans on revisiting it again in another year to see how it’s going – however, councillors say that the change is likely to stay.

The Township of Zorra started a similar pilot project in September 2020 and after eight months of testing the shorter workweek became an option for employees.

Ottawa-based tech consultancy firm Iversoft launched an optional four-day workweek to staff, with similar tests being done in Quebec.

In Iceland, the four-day workweek has been under ongoing testing since 2015, with the project being so successful that now 86% of Iceland’s workforce either work shorter hours or has the right to reduce their hours.

Spain is also sent to hold similar testing this year as well.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, “I think there are a lot of people thinking creatively about what the post-COVID world could look like."

Also adding that he “[looks] forward to hearing a wide range of suggestions. But right now, we're very much focused on getting through this particular crisis."