Extremely few full-time employees in Belgium currently work four days per week despite being legally entitled to do so, a recent study has found.
According to a poll conducted by employment consultancy Securex, a mere 0.73% of full-time employees in Belgium now work four days per week, l'Echo reports.
The survey found that a shorter work has little popularity whether in large or small companies: in businesses with fewer than 1,000 staff a mere 0.45% of employees choose to work four days per week. In those companies that have over 1,000 staff the figure only rises to 0.75% of employees.
The low numbers come despite the fact that since 20 November last year, full-time workers in Belgium's private sector have been legally permitted to request spreading their weekly working hours over four days rather than five, whilst retaining their full salary and benefits.
The finding is especially puzzling given that before November, the four-day working week seemed to be popular across much of Belgium: a study by Ghent University published in October found that up to 40% of workers in Flanders were in favour of a shorter working week.
An unpopular proposal?
Securex highlighted two key factors to explain the lagging popularity of the four-day week. The first is that many employees are still unconvinced about the benefits that a four-day work week is supposed to bring; the second is the potentially harmful administrative and organisational impact of a shorter working week on businesses, especially those with relatively few employees.
A spokesperson for Belgium's Minister of Employment Pierre-Yves Dermagne (PS) told l'Echo that the original purpose of the government's measure was not to require that everyone adopt the four-day work week but rather to make it available to everyone.
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"This measure is voluntary on the part of the employee," the spokesperson explained. "It can only be introduced after a social consultation procedure within the company and at the request of the staff member. It is not unusual that implementation happens gradually."
