Four-day work week introduced in Dominican Republic as experiment

The Dominican Republic is the first country in the Caribbean region to start encouraging businesses to introduce a four-day work week for their employees, TASS reports

The Labour Ministry has implemented a pilot plan to reduce the work week, and its aim is to cut the working hours of citizens from 44 to 36 per week. The programme will run for six months, and – over this period – the companies that voluntarily join the initiative will be able to assess the impact of reducing working hours on labour productivity.

It is specified that, within three months, employees will receive full wages, despite a 20 percent reduction in working hours. The main goal is to assess whether they will be able to achieve the same level of productivity while working less.

During the remaining months, the authorities will evaluate the programme results, paying special attention to such factors such as the health status of employees, their satisfaction with the work-life balance, absenteeism in the workplace, and impact on the environment.