Greece has just become the first country in Europe to introduce a six-day working weekin a bid to boost productivity and economic growth. The new legislation came into play on Monday (July 1) and has been met with – well – mixed reviews, to say the least.
The controversial move goes (quite drastically) against the grain, as many other countries are exploring and embracing the ever-so desirable concept of a four-day working week, and seeing that working fewer hours actually equates to higher productivity and improved wellbeing.
Under the new legislation (which was passed as part of a set of broader laws last year), employees of private round-the-clock businesses in Greece will have the option of working an extra two hours per day, or an additional eight-hour shift each week. This means that the traditional 40-hour week will become a 48-hour week for workers in the affected industries. Those working in the food and tourism industries are not included in the new six-day working week initiative.
The law has supposedly been designed to support employees who are not being sufficiently compensated for overtime work, and to clamp down on undeclared labour. Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakissaid that “the nucleus of this legislation is worker-friendly, it is deeply growth-oriented” and that “it brings Greece in line with the rest of Europe”.
According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentGreece is already one of the hardest working countries in the world. Greek workers were found to have been working longer hour than those in the US, Japan, and any other country in Europe. The new initiative has faced fierce backlash from unions in Greece, who have deemed the legislation as ‘barbaric’ and harmful to workers’ rights.
As for the UK, we’re still holding out hope for our four-day working week dreams to come true. But perhaps working five days a week doesn’t seem so bad after all…
