Work: The short week is becoming increasingly popular, with even Belgium introducing it. here’s where it’s already reality

Milan (Finanza.com)

greater quality of life. Keeping this goal in mind, the Belgian government has given its green signal in recent days. short work week, after banning federal employees from answering calls or emails outside business hours. A dream for many workers, which became a reality.

“We have gone through two difficult years – the Belgian prime minister explained” alexander de croz With this agreement, we have set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable and digital. “The initiative, Labor Minister Pierre-Yves Dermigne explained, would allow each worker to decide whether to work four days a week, and the employer would have to justify refusing to give it up.

In practice, workers in Belgium can now apply for a four-day work week for a probationary period of six months, after which they can decide whether to continue. However, workers must maintain a 38-hour work week, which means they must work an additional hour and a half for each of the four days to get an extra day off without breaking the paycheck.

But Belgium is not the only country that has adopted a short workweek. Indeed, in some countries, even a cut in hours does not make a difference in pay.

Other examples in the world

United Arab Emirates The U.S. has adopted a four-day working week by declaring that from this year all government agencies in the country will work four-and-a-half days a week, with the weekend starting at noon on a Friday and lasting until Sunday.

There Scotland Reduced working hours by 20% to match a four-day work week.

similar to scotland Spain Four day working week announced. In this case, the Iberian government accepted a 32-hour work week for three years without any reduction in workers’ wages.

Following in the footsteps of Spain, Japan Considering implementing a four-day work week. This decision is somewhat surprising, given that Japan has a fast-paced work culture and people die from overwork because they have little or no time for vacation.

In Italy Carter & Benson introduced a shortened week to 36 hours in early January 2020, in Milan, with rather more motivated workers, without experiencing a drop in productivity.