Eight days off on weekdays in 2025: bad for the economy? ‘It’s not that simple’
In 2025, an unprecedented number of public holidays will fall on weekdays - good news for workers and bad news for the economy, you might think. But it’s not so obvious: That extra day off may actually yield more than it costs.
The year 2025 is a record year with the most official holidays falling on weekdays for a decade. Just this month, Liberation Day fell on a Monday, which is an official holiday once every five years. New Year’s Day fell on a Wednesday and Christmas will fall on Wednesday and Thursday. Also, this work week is interrupted by Ascension Day, which always falls on a Thursday. On average, six holidays fall during the week and this year there are eight if you count Good Friday as a public holiday, which is not automatically observed by each employer as a holiday. More days off means less work. Denmark abolished a public holiday exactly for this reason.
Despite this record year, overall in the Netherlands our paid days off are sparse; we have the fewest days off in Western Europe. Finland tops the list with 39 days off. According to the Meertens Institute, this is because the Netherlands is less nationalistic than other countries, so there are fewer days on which we celebrate the Dutch state. In addition, many Protestant holidays have been abolished in the Netherlands due to the Reformation. Moreover, in the Netherlands, there is no legal right to a day off for holidays but it is agreed upon in collective labor agreements (CAOs) or individual labor agreements between employers and employees.
Down 0.4 percent
An extra day off may seem negligible for the economy, but Denmark abolished a public holiday for exactly this reason. Since 2024, Denmark has not known Store Bededag, literally “Great Day of Prayer,” a religious day which people prayed for, among other things, a good harvest. The Danish government scrapped the holiday to increase productivity in order to boost the defense budget. The measure was highly controversial, and many Danes saw it as an attack on tradition and cultural identity.
According to pension provider APG, with an extra day off, gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all goods and services produced in one year, theoretically decreases by about 0.4 percent annually. For example, a 0.4 percent drop in GDP would mean earning eight euros less per month based on a net monthly salary of two thousand euros.
Holiday effect
But, “it’s not that simple,” says UvA economics lecturer Charan van Krevel. The supposed decline in GDP is offset by the fact that sectors such as hospitality and tourism actually benefit from partying consumers, Van Krevel explains. “In particular, amusement parks do very well on a public holiday.” This limits the net loss to about 0.05 to 0.1 percent of GDP, according to APG. Van Krevel sees studies with varying results showing no clear picture of the effect of an extra day off on GDP. So whether additional weekday holidays will make us economically worse off in 2025, she cannot say.
On the other hand, Van Krevel adds that an extra day off can also be profitable for the economy. Not so much through direct production, but through the social capital it provides, the value of social networks. “A collective day off strengthens the sense of togetherness,” Van Krevel says. “Many holidays have religious or cultural origins and offer people a chance to come together.” That connectedness, however small the effect, contributes to the long-term sustainability of an economy, Van Krevel says. Trust between people is essential because it influences how we make choices. “For example, you are more likely to choose to hire someone who looks like you than someone who is more qualified on paper. Or you’re more likely to invest in your neighbor’s business than in an ETFAn ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a mutual fund that tracks a basket of stocks, bonds or other assets and is traded on the exchange like a regular stock..” In a society with more mutual trust, cooperation runs more smoothly, conflicts are less likely to escalate and lawsuits are less often necessary. “It’s the glue that holds society together,” Van Krevel says.
In addition, public holidays also seem to be profitable for shareholders, Van Krevel says. Around holidays, stock markets often perform unexpectedly well - the so-called holiday effect. Returns on such days are on average 30 to 50 percent higher than normal. “Nobody knows exactly why this happens,” Van Krevel says, “no explanation holds up.” So for those with pension investments, an extra day off could be a positive.
Mental well-being under pressure
“Moreover, an increase in GDP is not necessarily positive,” says Van Krevel. Higher economic production can be accompanied by more work pressure, stress and less time for relaxation, factors that actually put mental well-being under pressure. The climate also often pays the price: more production usually means more emissions, resource consumption and environmental damage. “Not everything of value can be captured in the increase in GDP,” Van Krevel says. Suppose GDP were indeed to shrink by 0.4 percent and Van Krevel was allowed to choose between having a week less money for her groceries or an extra day off, the choice is quickly made: “I would rather have a day off.”
It’s also true that workers have experienced more work pressure over the past 10 to 15 years, according to UvA associate professor of psychology of labor and health Machteld (Maggie) van den Heuvel. High work pressure can occur when there is more work to do than fits into the time allotted. “A little challenge is important for job satisfaction, but if it takes too long and becomes too much, that turns into stress and poorer performance.” That pressure can cause you to invest more hours in your work and thus stay with your job longer.” Does an extra day off solve this problem?
Van den Heuvel emphasizes that an extra day off can contribute to physical and psychological recovery, but only if it is used properly. “The effect depends a lot on what you do with that day,” she says. Drawing from science, she shares some practical tips: start by thinking in advance about how you want to spend the day in a way that is enjoyable for you - the anticipation already contributes to your mood. Spend time on hobbies or developing skills you enjoy, “because that contributes to the fulfillment of our basic psychological needs.” And perhaps most importantly, also mentally distance yourself from your work. “Don’t fall into the trap of working anyway. Turn off your phone. Burnout often occurs because there is too much to do and people cannot distance themselves from their work outside working hours. Especially in my sector: education and science, you see that people just keep going even on days off.”
Until 2014, the UvA counted one more day off than other educational institutions. That year, in fact, Labor Day, May 1, was abolished as a day off at the UvA. Because H.M. Beatrix abdicated as queen in 2013, Queen’s Day shifted from April 30 to King’s Day on April 27 in subsequent years. Since May 1 then no longer fell the day after an official holiday, this would lead to a fragmented day off, and May 1 was abolished as a day off at the UvA.
In any case, the day off was not uncontroversial at the time since the UvA was the only educational institution in the Netherlands to close its doors on this traditionally socialist holiday.
Day off is not the solution
Yet Van den Heuvel warns that an extra day off does not automatically lead to greater employee satisfaction. “Employee satisfaction is a complex set of factors such as work pressure, appreciation, leadership and development opportunities. One or two days off more or less usually makes little difference in that,” she says. But the reverse is true: in some sectors, people feel aggrieved if it is not possible to get a day off on holidays. That can temporarily have a negative impact on how they perceive their work. Moreover, official days off are usually not seen as a bonus from the employer, because they are part of the social status quo. Van den Heuvel: “It is only when employees have to work at a time when others are off that it can be perceived as unfair, especially when one has no free choice in this.”
In addition to the employee perspective, Van den Heuvel also believes that for employers an extra day off is not a structural solution for reducing absenteeism. According to Van den Heuvel, the investment of an extra day off to solve absenteeism is not profitable: “So it makes no sense to throw an extra day off against it, hoping that people will report sick less often. While rest is important, sustainable well-being requires broader measures, such as good policies, positive leadership and healthy working conditions.”
