The four-day week was not a great success
September 2023 - According to a study by HR services provider SD Worx, the four-day week has been introduced in just six per cent of Flemish SMEs.
The federal government's employment deal, which aims to give more people the chance to find a job and boost flexibility, has not been a resounding success. The four-day week, for example, which allows full-time workers to ask their employer to carry out their work over four days, is barely being applied. The system, initially introduced in the construction sector, has been open to all sectors since November 2022. However, employers are not obliged to introduce it.
Six months after its introduction, only 6% of Flemish SMEs are applying the four-day week, according to the study. Small and medium-sized enterprises are indeed interested in the system but are sticking to the traditional five-day week for the time being, no doubt for fear of a drop in their workers' productivity.
However, the four-day week can help SMEs in their search for staff. Flexibility in working hours is one of the main conditions set by young workers.
The four-day week for civil servants
Civil servants, too, have recently been able to apply for the four-day week. Minister Petra De Sutter's Royal Decree was approved by the government a fortnight ago. Civil servants can also organise their working hours even more flexibly: they can opt for a variable working week, working more hours one week and fewer hours the next.
