The Dutch love four-day working weeks, but are they sustainable?

The Dutch have quietly adopted working just a four-day week. But what has been its impact, and can it last?

"Your kids are only young once," says Gavin Arm, co-founder of Amsterdam-based small business Positivity Branding.

"Most people, if they're running a company, they throw themselves into it and work, work, work to try and make it. And they're probably doing it for their kids.

"But then they look back when they're older and go 'I missed that part of their lives', and that's awful. We don't want to be like that."

Arm is speaking to me at the firm's cosy office in the Dutch capital's lively De Pijp neighbourhood. South of the city centre, it is known for its bustling markets, bohemian history and heavy gentrification.

His business, which he co-founded with colleague Bert de Wit, advises companies on their brand identity and packaging.

Arm and de Wit switched themselves and their staff to a four-day week seven years ago.

Employees did not have to take a cut in salary, and nor did they have to work longer hours on the four days. Instead, their hours remain at 32-per-week, or eight-per-day.

"The work-life balance was at the heart of it," adds de Wit, who disagrees with the suggestion that their staff are now doing less work for the same amount of money. Instead he puts it down to "working smarter not harder".

"In other countries they might spend a lot of time at work, but that doesn't mean they work a lot. Changing the culture and the mindset is the biggest challenge."

Working a four-day week has now been common across the Netherlands for a number of years, with even the largest companies getting on board.

Meanwhile, the country's biggest union, FNV, is continuing to lobby the Dutch government to make it the official recommendation. And, anyway, Dutch employees already have a legal right to request reduced hours.

"We like time to free up our mind. I get the best ideas when I walk my dog," says Marieke Pepers, chief people officer at the Dutch software firm Nmbrs.

She takes Friday off every week. "No one is expecting me, I get my inspiration, I'm in a better place, and the company is too."

Pepers adds that since the company switched to a four-day week "staff sickness is down, and retention is up". But she says that the idea was initially a hard sell.

"We had to convince investors. Our own people were sceptical at first, 'I'm already not capable of finishing my work in five days' [was one reaction].

"Some people were feeling pressure. But we just have to be super‑critical in how we prioritise our work, we cut back on meetings."

The Netherlands' quiet embrace of the four‑day working week has captured international attention. Dutch employees work an average of 32.1 hours per week, the lowest in the EU, and well below the bloc's average of 36 hours.

At the same time, Dutch economic output or GDP per capita – relative to each person – remains both among the highest in Europe, and close to top of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member states of developed economies.

It challenges the assumption that rich countries need long hours to stay competitive.

But is the reality of the Netherlands' four-day week as successful for the Dutch economy as the headlines suggest?

"It's true the Netherlands has high productivity and works fewer hours," says Daniela Glocker, an economist on the Netherlands desk at the OECD, "but what we've seen over the past 15 years is that it [productivity] hasn't grown.

"So if the Dutch want to maintain their quality of life, they have to increase productivity or increase their labour supply."

By this, she means that existing workers will have to start to produce more goods and services per day of work, or else the country will need additional people entering the jobs market, such as potentially through increased immigration.

The Netherlands has the highest share of part‑time workers in the OECD, with almost half of employees working less than full time.

Higher wages and the way Dutch taxes bite in the middle of the income distribution make extra hours less attractive, encouraging families to trade income for time.

The government's own analysis notes that three out of four women and one out of four men work fewer than 35 hours.

Unions argue that "one day less" can be good for energy, productivity and society, and that normalising four‑day patterns can keep people in work who might otherwise drop out altogether.

But the OECD warns this strength comes with growing strains. Like most countries, the Netherlands faces an ageing population, so as more people retire fewer are in the workforce.

"The Dutch are rich and they work less – but the question is, how sustainable is this?" says Nicolas Gonne, economist at the OECD. "There's only so much you can do with few workers.

"What we see is the Netherlands is hitting constraints on all sides; the way to alleviate this is to expand [labour] supply."

One way of increasing this supply could be getting more Dutch women working full-time. While female employment is high, more than half of Dutch women work part time – around three times the OECD average.

Access to affordable childcare remains a major constraint, and high income taxes and complex benefits can discourage people, especially second earners, from working more hours.

Peter Hein van Mulligen, from the Dutch Statistics Office (CBS), points to an "institutionalised conservatism" deep rooted in Dutch society, which acts as a barrier to women's participation.

A 2024 study found one in three people in the Netherlands think that mothers with very young children (aged three or younger) should work not more than one day a week, and nearly 80% think that three days a week is the maximum.

For fathers these shares are respectively 5% and 29%.

"Quite a difference," notes van Mulligen.

Yvette Becker from FNV union says a four‑day working week can help close the gender gap. "You gain productivity with less absenteeism."

Back at Positivity Branding, de Wit says four-day working weeks make employment "more attractive", especially for sectors of the economy with shortages, such as education and health.

"It could be a way to make those professions way more attractive and get the productivity back up."

His co-founder Arm adds his thoughts on the four-day week: "Are you happier? Are you enjoying your life more? That's really what it's all about."