Some Countries Are Trying a Four-Day Workweek. Greece Wants a Six-Day One.

bnew

Veteran
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Messages
56,031
Reputation
8,229
Daps
157,710

Some Countries Are Trying a Four-Day Workweek. Greece Wants a Six-Day One.​

The country, which already has the European Union’s longest average workweek, wants to add another day in some cases, bucking a growing business trend.

A group of people stand holding orange flags.

Greek workers demonstrated outside the Finance Ministry in Athens in May during a strike to protest low wages amid high living costs.Credit...Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters

By Niki Kitsantonis and Amelia Nierenberg

Niki Kitsantonis reported from Athens, and Amelia Nierenberg from London.

July 4, 2024Updated 12:42 p.m. ET

As the rest of the world zigs toward a four-day workweek, Greece is opting to zag.

On Monday, a law came into effect that allows some companies to enforce a six-day workweek, a shift that is intended to prop up the country’s aging work force and compensate strapped workers, while respecting workers’ rights.

The law applies to private sector workers in certain industrial and manufacturing sectors, or to those who work in a business that operates continuous shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with some exceptions. And it would be allowed only “in exceptional circumstances,” like an unexpectedly increased workload.

Labor unions, which have long pushed for better working conditions and rights, have opposed the move. It has prompted a fierce debate and, when the bill was approved last year, protests. Greece already has the longest average workweek in the European Union, and it is not clear whether the extended workweek will bolster productivity.

The action in Greece stands in sharp contrast to much of the world. Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, in March pushed to reduce the standard workweek in the United States to 32 hours from 40 hours. Trials have been carried out in Britain, Iceland and New Zealand, at least in part as a response to the drastic shifts in work that were precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s what to know about Greece’s overtime measure.

Why do some think a six-day model could help?​

Greece is dealing with a shortage of skilled labor, as are its peers in the European Union.

Conservative lawmakers in the country have billed the law as a way to provide more resources for employers, while providing additional income for workers.

The extra day, said Niki Kerameus, the labor and social insurance minister, will allow employers to address “urgent operational demands” that cannot be met given the current supply of workers, and will also put more money in the pockets of employees.

According to the law, workers get an extra 40 percent on their sixth day. This rises to 115 percent if that day falls on a Sunday or a public holiday. Some workers are already working more than 40 hours per week without getting paid for the extra time, and backers of the new measure say it affords them protections because employers would have to declare extra hours to the government.

The labor shortage has its roots in the financial crisis that began in 2009. Huge numbers of workers, most of them young Greeks, went abroad in search of better prospects, and some companies cut back on training and development, adding to the problem.

The boom that came after provided welcome financial relief, but it also left employers short handed as the economy rebounded. Greece has struggled to deal with a huge influx of migrants, but it is now offering some more established migrants residency and work permits, as well as signing deals with other countries to bring in more workers for certain sectors like agriculture.

How have critics responded?​

The Greek government has sought to downplay the implications of the move, stressing that it was an “an exceptional measure” that “does not affect in any way the established five-day working week,” Ms. Kerameus said.

But many, especially on the left, are furious.

Syriza, the leftist opposition party, denounced what it called “a return to working conditions of the 19th century that puts the country to shame.”

Nikos Fotopoulos, the general secretary of Greece’s private sector labor union, excoriated the measure in an open letter to Ms. Kerameus, the labor minister, calling the government “the most barbaric, most anti-worker government ever.”

Nearly one in five Greek adults were at risk of poverty last year, according to the research institute of Greece’s private sector workers’ union, and Mr. Fotopoulos said the government’s argument that workers can forgo the extra day did not hold up.

“Which worker, with the unemployment and poverty we have, would dare to say no to unchecked employers who you’ve allowed to treat workers like their slaves?” Mr. Fotopoulos wrote.

What’s the case for a four-day workweek?​

Supporters of a four-day workweek say it could have significant benefits for employers and employees.

The logic? Fewer hours at the office should mean that the time there should be more productive. Workers, according to the theory, will have more energy and incentive to power through the 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. need-a-snack lull, or other periods when fatigue sets in and their minds begin to drift.

“When people work less, they tend to work smarter,” said Dale Whelehan, the chief executive of 4 Day Week Global, a nonprofit group. “As a result, they cut out unproductive time within their work and are able to get more done in less time.”

The evidence is still emerging, but a British trial run — conducted by Dr. Whelehan’s group — seemed to have favorable results. In a survey about halfway through the study, which took place in 2022, most of the companies reported no loss of productivity during the trial.

How does the productivity argument play out in Greece?​

Greece had the longest average workweek in the European Union last year. Working-age people spent an average of 39.8 hours at their jobs, compared with the bloc’s average of 36.1 hours.

So while Greece is looking to extend the workweek in certain cases, backers of the four-day workweek like to emphasize that less can sometimes be more when it comes to productivity.

And Greece’s productivity has long been lower than the European Union’s average. Data from Eurostat, the bloc’s statistics agency, shows that Greek productivity per working hour was 30 percent lower than the bloc’s average last year.

“It offers an incentive to workers who want to boost their salary — while also increasing fair play by employers,” said Emmanouil Savoidakis, a lawyer based in Athens, who said some of his clients in manufacturing have already expressed interest. “Anyone who wants to boost production has to do it subject to certain rules and pay the overtime.”
 

T-K-G

Veteran
Joined
May 12, 2012
Messages
37,058
Reputation
5,310
Daps
106,937
Reppin
LWO/Starkset
Greed

Working 6 day weeks is just gonna make people work even slower because you have an extra day to put stuff off

And generally be pissed off because they have to fill that one day off running themselves ragged with errands and basic adult upkeep


They gonna make them people revolt and get violent doing this
 

Ezekiel 25:17

Veteran
Joined
Jul 17, 2018
Messages
32,711
Reputation
1,682
Daps
118,942
Greed

Working 6 day weeks is just gonna make people work even slower because you have an extra day to put stuff off

And generally be pissed off because they have to fill that one day off running themselves ragged with errands and basic adult upkeep


They gonna make them people revolt and get violent doing this

I gotta disagree with you on this. People will initially hate it, but when that extra money come in shyt changes. Just think, one day is an extra $500/month. Besides, people don't do much on Saturday anyway.


We should all change to 6 days a week.
 

T-K-G

Veteran
Joined
May 12, 2012
Messages
37,058
Reputation
5,310
Daps
106,937
Reppin
LWO/Starkset
I gotta disagree with you on this. People will initially hate it, but when that extra money come in shyt changes. Just think, one day is an extra $500/month. Besides, people don't do much on Saturday anyway.


We should all change to 6 days a week.
You either are trolling or don't have a social life

How you just gonna say people don't do much on Saturdays? :heh: you're telling on yourself man

What's the point of having that extra money if you literally have no free time to do anything with it :camby: you sound like a loner so that lifestyle would make sense for you, other people have friends/family/hobbies/errands they'd like to handle over the weekend
 

Ezekiel 25:17

Veteran
Joined
Jul 17, 2018
Messages
32,711
Reputation
1,682
Daps
118,942
You either are trolling or don't have a social life

How you just gonna say people don't do much on Saturdays? :heh: you're telling on yourself man

What's the point of having that extra money if you literally have no free time to do anything with it :camby: you sound like a loner so that lifestyle would make sense for you, other people have friends/family/hobbies/errands they'd like to handle over the weekend


People used worked 12 hour days 6 days a week and still have a social life. Hell, it's people now that work 60 hours a week and still have a social life. You gotta manage your time well and most people don't. Most people surf the internet, play videogames, be on internet forums, watching reality shows. Gotta cut all that stuff out.
 

BaggerofTea

Veteran
Supporter
Joined
Sep 15, 2014
Messages
49,665
Reputation
-2,427
Daps
240,451
Greed

Working 6 day weeks is just gonna make people work even slower because you have an extra day to put stuff off

And generally be pissed off because they have to fill that one day off running themselves ragged with errands and basic adult upkeep


They gonna make them people revolt and get violent doing this

Nah, the country is going broke and they dont want immigrants
 

Richard Glidewell

Superstar
Joined
May 24, 2022
Messages
5,624
Reputation
1,247
Daps
14,853
This muthafukkers still living under austerity measures imposed by they fellow Europeans........ nobody there should be preparing any business solutions.......at all
 

The_Truth

Superstar
Supporter
Joined
Aug 17, 2014
Messages
7,611
Reputation
1,380
Daps
27,447
People used worked 12 hour days 6 days a week and still have a social life. Hell, it's people now that work 60 hours a week and still have a social life. You gotta manage your time well and most people don't. Most people surf the internet, play videogames, be on internet forums, watching reality shows. Gotta cut all that stuff out.
People should stop doing what they enjoy on their free time???
 
Top