Reducing burnout: Learnings from the Netherlands’ four-day work week

For those curious to know how organisations can play a part in reducing employees’ burnout risk need look no further than the Netherlands, which has successfully adopted a four-day work week for many of its workers.

An alternative way of working

For comparison, in the United States, the average work week is 42.9 hours. For the UK, it’s 36.4 hours, and for EU countries, it’s now 36 hours. The Netherlands? Workers here now clock in an average work week of 32.1 hours, making it one of the shortest week in the European Union, and indeed the world.

As an alternative way of working, the Netherland’s system offers more benefits than simply reducing employees’ risk of burnout. Shorter work weeks enable employees to get more out of the their lives than just working, and it also helps to share out labour more evenly across the population.

It also means that employees are more likely to be able and willing to have longer tenures in the role or industry of their choice, which includes the older population, who might otherwise be forced into retirement from jobs that are too physically or mentally demanding.

The shorter work week, through various experiments and pilots around the world, has repeatedly been shown to not only maintain organisations’ productivity levels, but even increase them. With more leisure time, employees are also more likely to spend more on recreational activities, further boosting the economy and benefiting a range of industries.

The impact on burnout, welbeing and organisational health

HR leaders will be especially interested in the measurable effects that have come to light by the Netherlands’ four-day week model, and other pilots that have taken place around the world.

For example:

In pilots elsewhere, including the UK, 71% of participants reported a reduction in burnout, and 39% felt less stressed
Absenteeism decreased, as did employee turnover, yet productivity remained the same or improved
Organisations that took part in pilots typically found they had to shift their workflows to maximise efficiency, for example by cutting out unnecessary meetings, to avoid simply condensing the same workload into fewer days
Mental health, sleep quality, and overall job satisfaction all improved in participants taking part in a four-day week trial

What does a successful four-day work week mean for HR?

As well as the productivity benefits that are four-day work week can bring, it is also great for a number of other key areas of a business.

Flexibility – great for inclusion and retention

The ability to work fewer (or shorter) days gives people the opportunity to more evenly balance work responsibilities with personal ones, without sacrificing on performance.

Wellbeing – making it a priority

Reduced working hours contributes to lower stress, reduced risk of burnout, and improved mental health. That feeds directly into better performance, engagement, and loyalty.

Efficiency – bringing in necessary changes for success

To make a four-day week successful and sustainable, intentional process changes will be needed. Streamlining workflows, cutting down or speeding up admin-heavy tasks, and ensuring managers are trained well in time management.

Gender equity – potential for closing the gap

Women, who are typically the main caregivers in families, are more likely to work part-time already, and therefore a four-day week may provide some with an opportunity to join companies or roles they might not ordinarily be able to due to a lack of flexibility.

What are some of the challenges with a four-day work week model?

Though shown to be possible, and successful, in places like the Netherlands and other trials around the world, the four-day work week comes with a few challenges and considerations. These include:

Sector variability: Not all industries may be able to work in a four-day week model, due to a need for continuous service and output. Industries like healthcare, manufacturing and retail may face more challenges because of this.
Fewer days, same workload: Attempting a four-day work week by simply compressing the same workload into fewer days could actually have the opposite effect, increasing stress and burden on overworked employees.
Cultural and compliance matters: The Netherlands’ tax systems, childcare support, leave entitlements and other social safety nets already support a four-day working week adequately, but it’s important to consider that regulations and frameworks in other countries around the world may not do so in the exact same way.
Equity concerns: Those working part-time and/or shorter working hours may miss out on promotions and leadership opportunities. It’s essential to ensure that policies don’t unintentionally disadvantage or overlook people who choose or fall into part-time/flexible roles.

Experimenting with a four-day work week

Implementing a four-day working week into a business is not a small task that can happen overnight. Careful planning, consideration and experimenting must be done to ensure that the model can work, and that it is in fact the right choice for an organisation.

Pilot programmes

Trial reduced working hours starting with just one team or department in your organisation first. This will prevent too much disruption too suddenly, and give you the opportunity to observe how it’s working.

Maintain pay and redesign workflows

One of the core principles of a four-day week model is that hours are reduced, by pay remains the same. Try to do this where possible, to prevent employees from feeling dissatisfied. Audit work processes and tools, to find inefficiencies and streamline operations where you can, in order to reduce the overall workload so everything can fit into the four days instead of five.

Management training and culture shifts

Managers may benefit from training in time management, as well as understanding the new culture shift that a four-day working week brings. Reinforce the norms that working reduced hours does not mean lower commitment, and ensure that leadership lead by example and don’t overwork themselves.

Communication and inclusion

When trialling a four-day week, make sure communication is front and centre. Involve employees where possible in the design and approach – ask for feedback and suggestions and encompass as much as you can. Be transparent about how decisions are being made and measured.

Measure and improve

Measure key metrics including productivity, turnover, wellbeing and sickness absence. Run pulse surveys to gauge employee sentiment, and use this data to make improvements to workflows.

Conclusion

The Netherlands demonstrates that a four-day work week can work, and provide real benefits to both employers and their employees. For HR professionals, these lessons are a powerful reminder than flexibility is a highly-valued aspect of many employees’ working lives, and there are different ways of making it work.

While the approach isn’t a one-size-fits-all, the principles of flexibility, fairness, efficiency, support and communication are essential for organisations looking to implement their own version of a four-day week. Employers that lean into these find not only an opportunity to reduce burnout risk, but to build more resilient, engaged and productive teams.