【熱門時事分享】四天工作週真的更幸福嗎？｜全球實驗、亞洲趨勢與台灣挑戰｜20250915

歡迎收聽《HOT 基礎英文新聞：熱門時事分享》。當我們談「四天工作週」，多半直覺以為是少上一天。然而真正改變人的，往往不是多放的那二十四小時，而是公司如何重設工作的規則：會議怎麼改、交接怎麼跑、服務怎麼不斷線。今天我們先看世界各地怎麼做，再回到亞洲與台灣，問一個最實際的問題：這在這裡行得通嗎？

Welcome to “HOT English News: Let’s Talk Trends.” When people hear “a four-day workweek,” they picture an extra day off. But the real shift isn’t the extra 24 hours—it’s how work is redesigned: meetings trimmed, handovers rebuilt, and services kept running. Today, we’ll tour global practice, move to Asia and Taiwan, and ask the practical question: Can it work here?

全球有兩種路線：其一是減時不減薪，常見是把每週工時降到約 32 小時、薪資照付，也叫「100–80–100」工作模式；其二是壓縮工時，一週上四天、每天更長，總時數不變。比利時的法制化屬於第二種，因此它不是「少上班」而是「把五天擠成四天」。

There are two main models. The first is reduced hours with full pay—often around 32 hours for 100% pay, the “100–80–100” idea. The second is compressed hours—still a full week’s hours, just spread across four longer days. Belgium’s law is the latter; it doesn’t cut total hours, it packs five days into four.

英國在 2022 年啟動了全球規模最大的減時不減薪試驗。半年後，多數公司決定繼續，因為他們發現：與其逼出第五天，不如把低效的流程砍掉；會議變短、人更專注，營收並沒有因此掉下來。研究團隊在給國會的報告裡說，這場實驗讓「四天」從口號，變成可以操作的政策。

The UK ran the world’s largest reduced-hours, same-pay pilot in 2022. After six months, most firms kept it, having learned that cutting waste beats cramming a fifth day. Meetings shrank, focus rose, and revenues held up. In a report to Parliament, researchers said the trial turned “four days” from a slogan into an operational policy. 

冰島的公共部門用了好幾年慢慢調整，把工時降到 35–36 小時，薪水不變。故事的重點不是「立刻見效」，而是把制度磨到可長可久：多數單位的生產力維持或上升，壓力與倦怠下降，最後多數勞工都享有縮時或申請縮時的權利。

Iceland took a slower, steadier path in the public sector, moving to 35–36 hours with no pay cut. It wasn’t an overnight miracle—it was durable design. Productivity held or improved, stress fell, and eventually most workers either had shorter hours or the right to request them.

亞洲的變化正從「個案」擴散到「制度」。企業端，日本微軟在 2019 年夏天用「每週多放一個星期五」測試，把會議砍半、縮到 30 分鐘，結果人均產能上升、用電與列印也下降。公共端，東京都政府宣布自 2025 年 4 月起開放都廳員工在既有彈性工時的框架內每週 三日休假，理由很務實：讓人不用在生養孩子和職涯之間二選一。

Asia’s shift is moving from isolated cases to policy moves. On the corporate side, Microsoft Japan tested extra Fridays off in 2019, halving meetings to 30 minutes; productivity rose while power use and printing fell. On the public side, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to offer a four-day option from April 2025, within its flex-time system—so people don’t have to choose between caregiving and careers.

在台灣，雲品國際在 2024 年秋天成為觀光餐旅第一個推行週休三日的公司，半年後宣布持續；人力市場的回饋很直接：履歷變多、離職變少。科技與傳產也有人走在前面：DEVCORE 對外主打週休三日的雇主品牌，而中部的 嘉澎塑膠 更把週工時下調到 32 小時、不減薪，寫進公司對外說明與徵才頁，讓「小型製造商，也可以」這件事，變成實例。

In Taiwan, FDC International Hotels Corporation broke ground in hospitality in late 2024 by piloting three-day weekends and then extending it after six months; applications surged and turnover dropped. Tech and traditional industry have pioneers too: cybersecurity firm DEVCORE publicly positions itself with three-day weekends, and Taichung-based Chia Pang Plastics has put 32 hours with full pay into its public materials and job posts—proof that even SMEs in manufacturing can do this.

回到結構性現況：勞動部統計顯示，2024 年台灣年總工時回升到 2030 小時以上；在很多行業，加班仍是常態。法律的地板也很清楚：每週 40 小時、每日不超過 8 小時是基本原則，彈性工時與集中工時都有規範，但那是換班方式，不是自動等於「減時不減薪」。所以專家與工會談「四天」時，焦點常回到同一件事——怎麼保護服務不中斷，又不把工時塞回去。

Zooming in on structure: official data show Taiwan’s annual hours climbed back above 2,030 in 2024; overtime remains common in many sectors. The legal baseline is clear—40 hours a week, 8 hours a day—with room for flex and concentrated hours, but those are scheduling tools, not a guarantee of reduced hours with full pay. That’s why experts and unions keep stressing the same point: preserve service coverage without smuggling the hours back in.

國外案例的共同點是一個字：改。英國的公司在試辦前先砍掉冗長會議、把流程數位化、訂清楚「什麼叫做交付」。冰島則用時間換穩定，讓每一項調整都能被組織消化。日本從企業實驗擴展到地方政府，重點也不在口號，而是把「誰休哪一天」、值班和交接變成可運作的制度。這些做法有個啟示：四天不是目的，好的工作設計才是。

What ties the global wins together is redesign. UK firms cut back meetings, digitized workflows, and defined delivery before the pilot. Iceland traded speed for stability, building changes the system could digest. Japan’s shift from company trials to metropolitan policy hinges on who’s off when, plus duty rosters and handovers that actually run. The lesson: the four-day week is a means; good work design is the end.

專家建議先從小而清楚的試辦開始：三到六個月，明白寫下「不降薪、不以加班補回、服務不斷線」。接著用排班設計把覆蓋做穩或固定一日為全員共同的休息日，再以值班機制處理尖峰與突發。最後，把衡量指標定在成果而非坐在位子上的時間，例如客戶滿意度、交付準時率、人員留任、請假與健康指標。如果這三件事做得到，四天就不再是口號，而是一組可以對顧客、股東與員工都交代的做法。

Experts suggest starting with a small, explicit pilot—three to six months—with promises not to cut pay, not to “make up” hours with overtime, and not to break coverage. Then engineer the rota: two alternating cycles or a universal day off plus on-call rules for peaks. Finally, measure outcomes, not chair time, such as customer satisfaction, on-time delivery, retention, sick leave and well-being. Nail these three and the four-day week stops being a slogan and becomes something you can justify to customers, shareholders, and staff.

四天工作週，其實是透過「少一點時間」逼自己找到「更好的方法」。世界的趨勢證明，它可以讓人過得更好、公司照樣把事辦好；亞洲與台灣的案例則提醒我們：真正難的不是同不同意，而是願不願意改。當流程真的被重做、覆蓋被設計、成果被衡量，少上一天班不再是夢想。

The four-day week uses less time to push us to find better methods. Global trends show it can lift lives without sinking results; Asia and Taiwan show the harder part isn’t agreement—it’s redesign. When processes change, coverage is engineered, and outcomes are measured, the extra day off is no longer just a dream. 

這就是「四天工作週」如何從口號走向可行的做法。若你喜歡這種主題與雙語的內容，歡迎追蹤我們、評價五顆星，並分享給對工作設計、生產力有興趣或想學英文的朋友。也可以告訴我們下次想聽的主題喔！

This is how the four-day workweek moved from a slogan to a workable practice. If you enjoyed this bilingual episode, please follow, rate us five stars, and share with friends who care about work design, productivity, or English learning. Feel free to tell us what topic you want next. See you soon.