The four-day work week is not new and is already implemented in various countries and companies around the world. Studies show that such a work regime reduces stress levels of workers, improves the balance between their professional and personal lives, and increases productivity.
However, is this model also applicable in the Balkans, where the weekly duration of the working week is the longest? A study published by Eurostat in May this year showed that Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece lead the ranking for the longest working week in Europe. With an average of 36 hours of weekly working time in the Old Continent, in Turkey the working week lasts 43.1 hours, in Serbia - 41.3 hours, in Bosnia and Herzegovina - 41.2 hours and in Greece - 39.8 hours. Among the EU countries, the top two places in the ranking are assigned to Greece and Bulgaria, while in our country the working week is 39 hours, the data show.
A number of Balkan countries are already taking timid steps towards a more flexible work regime and are discussing the introduction of a four-day work week. But will this mean fewer working hours and more time for workers with their families?
Here are the latest developments on the subject from the region:
GREECE has put forward a draft law by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security for public discussion, which provides for more flexible working hours for employees, including the possibility for parents to work 4 days a week for 10 hours a day, so that they can spend an extra day with their children. In fact, such an opportunity existed before, but only for six months a year, and with the bill it is extended throughout the year.
The aim of the changes is to give employees greater freedom in determining their working hours, but they have already caused reactions and concerns from unions and the opposition, Greek media reported.
The bill, which is in a public consultation period until September 19, also allows workers to work overtime up to a total of 13 hours a day, even if they are employed by one employer, and not as before - only if they have multiple employers. The measure will apply only at the employee's request with appropriate compensation and subject to the limit of 150 hours of overtime per year. Overtime will be compensated with remuneration 20 percent higher than regular up to the tenth hour a day and 40 percent - from the tenth to the thirteenth.
The opposition left-wing party SYRIZA saw in the bill a de facto repeal of collective labor agreements and legalization of the arbitrariness of employers at the expense of workers, the state television ERT reported.
„Vima“ writes that objections from the unions are caused by the possibility of a 13-hour working day with one employer, given that in most European countries working hours are reduced, not increased.
For its part, the ministry rejects concerns that the eight-hour working day will be affected, and recalls that the possibility of overtime work exists in all European countries. The ministry also specifies that the possibility of overtime work from 10 to 13 hours a day exists only with the consent of the worker.
SLOVENIA plans to partially introduce a new law from January 1 next year, providing revolutionary changes to the labor market, wrote the Slovenian publication „24 hours“ (24 hours).
Among other things, the law provides for the possibility for workers approaching retirement to reduce their work obligations. Those over 58 years of age, as well as those with at least 35 years of work experience, will be able to practically choose: Friday off, an extended weekend or reduced working hours - six hours a day, the Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities informed.
The model, called 80-90-100, provides for 80% working hours, 90% salary and full insurance benefits, as if working 100%. The idea is partly borrowed from Iceland, Ireland and Germany, where similar models have led to positive results: higher productivity, fewer absences and better efficiency. Pilot projects have already been carried out in technology companies in Slovenia, which have shown similar results.
The Slovenian Ministry of Labor said that if the changes prove successful, additional changes are possible by the end of 2028 - a bonus for working on Saturdays, a mandatory Christmas bonus for all employees and the introduction of a 38-hour work week.
TURKEY is also no stranger to the idea of introducing flexible working and is planning significant changes to labor legislation to create a legal framework for such work models, local media reported.
In addition to Europe, the country is also among the leading countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in terms of weekly working hours - with 45.7 working hours, surpassed only by Colombia, notes the Turkish private television CNN-Turk.
At the beginning of the year, the Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat İşıkhan signaled the prepared changes, announcing that flexible working conditions would be encouraged and that priority would be given to the health and safety of the workplace and the well-being of workers.
According to publications in Turkey, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Ministry of Family and Social Services are already working on preparing such models, which will be applied in both the private and public sectors. Among the changes being considered, along with the possibility of remote work, part-time work and shift work, is the introduction of a four-day work week with 10-hour daily shifts, the website "Donanum Haber" wrote.
Although the possibility of a four-day work week has not yet been officially introduced, the practice is already being implemented in Turkey. By its own decision, a private company switched to such a work regime for the first time in the country last year. A survey conducted among the company's employees found that the four-day workweek increased employees' loyalty, productivity, motivation and work-life balance by over 85 percent, writes the newspaper "Milliet".
MONTENEGRO is also planning labor reforms to improve the quality of life of citizens and provide "more time for family, as well as more efficient and productive work", and here the idea is to introduce a seven-hour workday.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic assured that the model to be introduced is expected to be acceptable to both employers and trade unions.
However, the Montenegrin Employers' Union (UPCG) says that there are no conditions for introducing such a work regime, HINA reported. According to Suzana Radulović from the UPCG, the association did not support the idea from the very beginning, as it believes that this is hasty and "is being done without a serious assessment of the impact on the Montenegrin economy".
The Union of Free Trade Unions said that while they understand the resistance of the business sector, they believe that Montenegro will move in this direction.
The introduction of a seven-hour working day is one of the election promises of Spajić's "Europe Now" movement.
ROMANIA has the necessary labor legislation that allows for flexible distribution of working hours within the week, and in recent years a number of companies have already tested the four-day work week, local media indicate.
Nearly 47 percent of employees would like a four-day work week, according to a survey published in June this year. There were several legislative initiatives to introduce such a regime: in 2016, 2017 and the most recent - in 2022, but they all overlooked the fact that the current Labor Code already provides the necessary legislative framework, notes the "Adeverul" newspaper.
The publication specifies that the submitted legislative proposals envisaged a scenario in which employees work 10 hours a day for four working days and have a break of three consecutive days - for example, they work from Monday to Thursday and rest on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. However, this is only one interpretation of the concept of a four-day work week, which includes a number of other models depending on the needs of both employers and workers.
Another possible option is a 20 percent reduction in working hours from the standard 40 hours per week by excluding one of the working days (for example, Friday), effectively making the working week 32 hours, and a third option provides for working four and a half days a week, with the employee being able to take half a day off per week or a full day off once every two weeks. These options are also associated with a corresponding reduction in pay.
Pro TV reported in its material that more and more large companies in Romania, which are facing a decline in revenues, are testing the four-day work week in order to avoid mass layoffs or bankruptcy. However, the measure comes with a 20 percent wage cut, as it involves reducing working hours from 40 to 32 per week, the television station notes.
According to data from the Labor Inspectorate, this year 119 companies in the country have announced their intention to switch to a four-day work week.
Antena 3 television quoted human resources specialists as saying that such a measure is no longer considered revolutionary in Romania, but that multinational companies are more open to such a work regime, while Romanian companies are more reserved.
The sectors that most often implement such a work program are in the field of IT, marketing, consulting and services. The advantages are that employees are more motivated and more efficient and maintain a balance between family and professional life, experts explain.
IN SERBIA, CROATIA and BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, discussions about reducing working hours have been appearing periodically, but so far there has been no official position on the matter. The Croatian website “Index“ recalls that some companies, mainly from the IT sector, switched to a four-day work week during the pandemic and decided to keep things that way afterwards, assessing that this further motivates employees, but their example is not widespread. The portal “Ljubuški“ reports on several companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina that have introduced a shortened work week and flexible working hours as a trial period or test. The Association of Independent Trade Unions in Belgrade told Euronews Serbia that they have raised the issue of shortening the workweek and that they have been discussing it for several years, with the last such initiative taking place on June 26 this year. There is no information about companies that have introduced such a work scheme in the country.