A pilot programme in the coastal Spanish city of Valencia has found that a shorter four-day work-week dramatically improves workers’ physical and mental health, while also protecting the environment and supporting children.

Unlike other employer schemes, such as those run by non-profit 4 Day Week Global, the city on Spain’s east coast scheduled local holidays to fall on four consecutive Mondays between 10 April and 7 May, effectively giving Valencia’s 800,000 residents a four-day work-week over a one-month period.