The Four-Day Workweek is Slowly Gaining Traction

📅🇧🇪 Yesterday, Belgium became the latest country to give workers the option to request a four-day workweek from their employers as part of an overhaul of the country’s labor laws. Employees in the country now also have the right to turn off work devices and ignore work-related messages after hours without fear of reprisal.

• Officials said the moves are an attempt to incentivize more Belgians to work. The country’s employment rate stood at ~71% in late 2021, and the government hopes to increase that number to 80% by 2030.
• If Belgium’s trade unions agree to the new rules, employees can opt to work for a max of 10 hours a day – instead of eight – to accrue extra time towards a three-day weekend or lighter hours the following week(s). There would be no reduction in workers’ pay.
• Any employer that turns down a request for a shorter workweek would have to provide “solid reasons” in writing for doing so.

🌍 Zoom out: Dozens of companies in the UK, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand are currently experimenting with four-day workweeks as part of government-sponsored pilot programs, similar to ones previously carried out in Iceland and Japan.

A handful of US companies have adopted a four-day workweek, but they still represent a tiny portion of the overall market. Earlier this year, the United Arab Emirates implemented a shortened 4.5-day workweek for government employees.