The four-day work week is gaining popularity in the Czech Republic

The concept of a four-day work week is gaining popularity in the Czech Republic, according to a recent report on CNN Prima News. Companies that have introduced the four-day work week on a trial basis are reporting an increase in employee satisfaction and no dip in productivity.

Prague-based digital marketing agency Sherpas introduced the four-day work week as a pilot project in 2019. Four years later, they're reporting a success, with satisfied employees and a more efficient workspace. They join Prague advertising firm B&T among local companies that have reported success with a four-day work week.

"When we first introduced it, it was a novelty that we were just trying out," Sherpas Director Luboš Plotěný told CNN Prima.

"There was a fear that we would go back to the original schedule, but given that we have been doing it for four years, the fear has completely disappeared."

According to the director, the company has been able to achieve in four days what they used to in five without issue. The benefit of a four-day work week has also been a big draw for job applicants: Sherpas has reportedly received three times the number of applicants to fill vacant positions since they made the change.

"I can go shopping in peace, I can take care of my family, I can visit offices and doctors. Everything that needs to be done during the week, I [can take of] on Friday," Sherpas employee Jana states.

The four-day work week is gaining popularity in the Czech Republic, especially among younger employees, says Jaroslava Rezlerová from employment agency ManpowerGroup. She adds that potential employees see a four-day work week and flexible hours among the greatest benefits an employer can offer.

"It's a demand that came up after Covid," Rezlerová told CNN Prima. "In recent years, people have started to appreciate their free time."

"People ask potential employers how flexible their working hours are. Another big benefit is when people have the opportunity to get [higher] education. They are also interested in whether there is a place at work where it is possible to put children. And then just the benefit of free time."

While companies in the Czech Republic have started to experiment with the four-day work week on their own initiative, there's been little movement to make a change at the government level in recent years level despite pressure from trade unions.

Officials, meanwhile, realize a change is on the horizon 100 years after the five-day work week became the standard.

 "We will have to gradually shorten working hours, otherwise there is a risk that people will lose their jobs due to the advancing digitization and robotization," former Czech Labor Minister Jana Maláčová said early last year.