There’s a primary reason why the Dutch have quietly shifted to a four-day workweek: women. After their entrance into the workforce, things would never be the same.
Like many other nations around the world, the Netherlands used to operate on a male-centered working model that placed men as the breadwinners. The weeks were longer, more similar to America’s traditional 40-hour workweek—but then women started to join the labor force in part time roles starting in the 1980s.
Over the next few decades, women’s workforce participation would shift the family earning structure and the country’s tax codes. The Netherlands went on to adopt a “one-and-a-half” earning model, where one parent worked full-time and the other part-time. The trending system was bolstered with tax breaks and benefits, and the working pattern became a standard among employees of all genders. Even working dads were taking advantage of the new structure, peeling out of work early to care for their young children.
