Ever since the pandemic, American workers have clung to their remote schedules for as long as possible as CEOs drag their staffers back into the office. Loving the freedom that comes with flexible schedules, some have even advocated for four-day workweeks—but for one tiny European nation, that dream is already a reality.
Workers in the Netherlands between the ages of 20 and 64 worked an average of 32.1 hours per week in 2024, according to a 2025 analysis from Eurostat. The country had the highest rate of shorter workweeks in Europe, followed by Austria, Germany, and Denmark all reporting roughly 34-hour workweeks.
In contrast, Americans employed full-time worked an average of 42.9 hours weekly in 2024, according to a Gallup poll—and that’s actually an improvement from 2019, when U.S. staffers clocked in 44.1 hours weekly. But it’s not only North Americans who are committed to the grind, as over a third of employed people in the EU spent nearly 40 to 45 hours on the job weekly in 2024, according to the Eurostat data.
How women in the workforce helped shift the Netherlands to 32 hour workweeks
There’s a major reason why the Dutch have quietly shifted to a four-day workweek: women. Upon their entrance into the workforce several decades ago, things have never been 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 days were stretched longer under that standard—more akin 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 40 years since, women’s workforce participation has shifted the family earning structure and 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 setup was bolstered with tax breaks and benefits, enabling it to become a standard among employees of all genders. Even working dads soon took advantage of the new structure, peeling out of work early to care for their young children.
Shorter workweeks could also combat unemployment—and America’s working women need it
The Dutch’s newfound way of work is not only helping employed parents juggle caretaking responsibilities. It’s also keeping people in the labor force, as other countries struggle with unemployment rates.
In 1991, just as more women were taking on part-time roles in the Netherlands, the country’s unemployment rate stood at 7.3%, according to data from The World Bank. Only a decade later, that number shot down dramatically—only 2.1% of the country’s population was jobless. While there have been fluctuations in the years since, the unemployment rate has remained steadily low since 2018, currently resting at just 3.7%. Since its citizens have more flexible workweek options, more are able to stay in the labor force while juggling their personal responsibilities.
Comparatively, the U.S.’s unemployment rate stood at just 4.3% this January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But with the U.S.’s population encompassing more than 342 million people, compared to the Netherlands with just 18 million citizens, the 0.6% difference in unemployment rates represents millions and millions more Americans out of work. And there’s one group of people who may be most at risk of being unemployed in the U.S.: women.
Whether it be the pendulum swing back to RTO, dwindling promotions, or a changing social landscape, women are being pushed out of the workforce in droves: Between January and June of 2025, 212,000 women aged 20 and older have left the American workforce, according to a BLS analysis. Meanwhile, 44,000 men entered the labor force in that same time period. In that six-month span, the employment rate of women ages 25 to 44 living with a child under five fell from 69.7% to 66.9%.
A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on August 28, 2025.
More on women in the workforce:
- Sheryl Sandberg breaks down why it’s a troubling time for women in the workplace right now
- Men joined the labor force at three times the rate of women in 2025
- The new American workplace crisis: Return-to-office mandates lead to a working mom exodus
The post Forget 40 hours: The Dutch get their work done in just 32 hours a week—and women made it possible appeared first on Fortune.
