Most Belgians would opt for extra vacation days instead of a four-day workweek, according to a new study. One year after the implementation of a law allowing people to change their work schedule, the four-day week struggles to convince workers.
Since November 21, 2022, Belgian law has allowed employees working in Belgium to work for four days a week instead of five, with their employer’s permission. But just 0.5% of employees use it, according to a study conducted by Acerta, a human resources services company, in February 2023.
A new study by HR interim services provider Tempo-Team, conducted in collaboration with Professor Anja Van den Broeck, an expert in work motivation at KU Leuven University, the Catholic University of Leuven, and quoted by RTBF, shows that nearly six out of ten respondents (57%) say they fear the disadvantages of a four-day workweek. For employees, this figure rises to 61%. The primary reason is that many fear there would be too much work to do in four days, or that a full-time four-day workweek would be too intense, tiring or stressful.
A large majority of workers (74%) prefer to maintain the five-day workweek and enjoy more vacation days.
Almost half of employees (51%) are even willing to see their salary cut by 10% in exchange for more vacation days, which they see as a better way of achieving work-life balance. The salary cut is slightly more prevalent among white-collar workers (54%) than blue-collar workers (46%). The idea is also popular with parents (54%).
In Belgium, vacation must last at least 24 days for every 12 months worked.
The study also shows that motivation and job satisfaction play a major role in respondents’ preferences. Those who enjoy their work say they have less need for extra vacation days or free time.
A representative sample of 2,500 employees was surveyed for this study in September 2023.
In most Belgian companies, employees work an average of 38 or 39 hours a week. The four-day workweek law of November 21, 2022, also known as the “employment deal”, proposed maintaining the same workweek, but spreading it over four days instead of five with no loss of salary, and no impact on pension benefits. On the other hand, this would mean four 9.5‑hour working days for an employee working 38 hours a week.
To obtain this reorganization of working hours, an employee must submit a request to the employer, who has one month to respond. Any agreement is valid for six months and is renewable. Refusing the request must be justified.
The stated aim of the law was to promote work-life balance.
The percentage of 20–64-year-olds in employment in Belgium is below the European average: 71%, compared with 73% in the Euro area and 81% in Germany and the Netherlands, according to Stabel, the Belgian statistics office. The overall goal of the employment deal was to increase the employment rate to 80% by 2030, in order to preserve the pension system. The measure apparently failed to convince its public.
In the United Kingdom, from June to December 2022, 61 companies took part in the largest-ever experiment on the subject. The working hours of 2,900 employees were reduced by 20%, without affecting wages. The results show that a reduced workweek has significant effects on staff well-being and facilitates employee retention, explained researchers from Cambridge University, who worked in collaboration with the Boston University and the Autonomy think tank on this experiment conducted by 4 Day Week Global, a worldwide organization whose aim is to change the future of work by working smarter.
More recently, in Germany, the idea of the four-day workweek has also gained ground. Work organization consultancy Intraprenör is to pilot the first major experiment across the country, in partnership with 4 Day Week Global.
At the beginning of 2024, 50 companies of different sizes and sectors will test reduced working hours for equal pay for six months, with the aim of maintaining productivity. Intraprenör, which has already introduced the four-day week for all its employees since 2016, says it currently has 33 applications from interested companies.
