Moscow, September 15, 2025 (Agencies): Russia is on track to gradually transition to a four-day workweek, but the change will not be imposed across all sectors, according to Yaroslav Nilov, head of the State Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy.
Speaking to TASS, Nilov stressed that the shift should be “evolutionary and synergistic,” avoiding blanket regulations that could disrupt industries where reduced hours are not feasible, such as healthcare or piecework-based employment. He emphasized that wages must remain unaffected and that companies should adopt the new model voluntarily when the labor market is ready.
The concept of a shorter workweek has been under discussion since 2019, when then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev floated the idea at the International Labor Conference in Geneva, arguing that the global economy could eventually transition to fewer working days.
Currently, Russia follows a standard 40-hour workweek with weekends off. While lawmakers have repeatedly proposed cutting the workweek to four days, previous attempts have been rejected. However, Nilov pointed out that many companies shifted to remote or hybrid schedules during the Covid pandemic, and some already operate on four- or even three-day weeks by redistributing workloads.
Earlier this year, major Russian automaker AvtoVAZ announced its intention to introduce a four-day week due to economic pressures, including high interest rates and rising imports. Public opinion is divided, with a SuperJob survey showing that over half of Russians support the idea, while 87% of employers remain reluctant, citing staff shortages. A separate hh.ru study, however, indicates that 81% of large companies are open to adopting shorter workweeks in the future.