Belgium is the latest to join the still sparse list of nations that offer four working days a week to their workers, while the United Arab Emirates is the first country to have adopted four and a half days a week. The government of Belgium aims to further improve the quality of life of the country’s workers by promoting the 4-day working week after introducing the ban on federal workers from answering calls or emails outside of business hours. “We have lived through two difficult years. With this agreement, we have set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable and digital. The goal is to be able to make people and businesses stronger “are the words of the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo while the Minister of Labor Pierre-Yves Dermagne specified that each worker can decide whether to work four days at week and the employer must justify his refusal to grant it.
Short week but with the same number of hours worked
Workers in Belgium can now apply for a four-day work week for a trial period of six months. If they wish, they can stay with the shortened workweek or forgo it. However, workers must maintain a working week of 38 orewhich means they have to work harder for each of the four days to get an additional day off (9 and a half hours a day).
And in other countries?
The UAE, on the other hand, is the first nation in the world to have adopted a four-day work week by announcing that from this year all government bodies in the country will work for four and a half days a week, with the weekend starting at noon on Friday. and lasts until Sunday.
The Scotland reduced working hours by 20% to match the four-day work week. Similar to that of Scotland, also the Spain announced a four-day work week. The Iberian government in this case accepted one 32-hour work week for three years without any cut in workers’ wages.
Following in the footsteps of Spain, the Japan is considering implementing a four-day work week. The decision is somewhat surprising, given that Japan has a fast-paced work culture and people die from overwork, as they have little or no time for a vacation.
In Italy Carter & Bensonin Milan, introduced the short week, at 36 hours, in January 2020 without productivity losses and with more motivated workers according to the company.