Four beats five as pandemic prompts shorter working week trials

Madrid: From travel to technology, employers across the globe are offering four day weeks as incentives to woo workers after the coronavirus pandemic upended their working patterns.

Debate over the so-called 'Scandinavian model', which holds that productivity will rise if working hours are dropped, is not new but it has gained traction during the COVID crisis not only among companies but also the public sector and politicians. In Europe, Spain's left wing government is considering its own version to help its economy, while public administrations in Denmark and Iceland have already adopted 4-day weeks.