Do you have plans for 2024? 9 countries in Europe where you can work 4 days a week

2023-12-31 10:13:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Do you have plans for 2024? 9 countries in Europe where you can work 4 days a

In recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns it imposed, work-life balance is taking center stage.

More and more people are looking for ways to make work more convenient, with many choosing to work remotely or looking for the option to work fewer days.

For those planning to move to any European country in 2024, SchengenVisaInfo.com has compiled a list of top EU destinations that are leading the way for a balanced work life and that apply four-day work weeks.

Belgium

The law allowing Belgian workers to complete working hours on four days a week, instead of five, was passed in November 2022, making Belgium the latest European country to apply this law.

Belgian Prime Minister Alex de Croo noted that the aim of such a law was to give people and companies more freedom to regulate their working hours.

Puffin Island

While Belgium is the latest country to introduce the four-day working week in the EU, Iceland is the country that practices it the most, even internationally.

According to a Forbes article published last year, almost 90 percent of Icelandic workers have reduced their working hours to fit a four-day week. This country had one of the world's largest and longest trials of this labor practice, which lasted between 2015 and 2019.

France

This practice has been increasingly common for businesses in France, although it has not been legally enforced by the authorities.

The French Ministry of Labor further confirms these claims, saying that around 10,000 workers in the country already work a four-day week.

Lithuania

Although the government has not officially implemented a four-day work week in Lithuania, it passed legislation in 2021 that allows parents with young children to work just 32 hours a week.

According to the results of a survey commissioned by public broadcaster LRT, 51 percent of respondents say they would approve a four-day work week, 35 percent were against and another 14 percent had no opinion on the matter.

Denmark and the Netherlands

These two countries may not legally enforce the four-day work week, but they have some of the shortest work weeks. The average working week in the Netherlands is 29 hours - the shortest working week in Europe and allows workers to work 4 days a week, depending on the agreements.

Germany, Spain and Portugal

These three countries are still on trial for the four-day work week, with the Spanish government agreeing to a 32-hour work week for three years, while workers will be paid the same amount.

Germany, which has an average working week of 34.2 hours, has also entered a trial period, largely initiated by unions that have demanded reduced working hours.

According to a survey by Forsa, 71 percent of working people in Germany would like to have the opportunity to work just four days a week.

Portugal is also one of the latest nations to trial a four-day work week. In June, a six-month trial began involving 39 businesses./ CNA