Greece Introduces Six-Day Workweek: Could This Set A Trend for Other Countries?

There are new regulations in Greece that are coming into effect from July 1 onwards and are concerned with a six-day workweek. After the regulation comes into effect some industrial and manufacturing facilities as well as businesses that are open and provide services 24/7 will have the option to move to a six-day work week moving away from the conventional five days, says Emmanouil Savoidakis, head of the labour law practice at Politis & Partners, a business law firm based in Athens

This would mean that the week will consist of 48 working hours instead of the traditional 40 hours. Employees theoretically have the option to work additional hours if companies require it, with the potential to earn higher wages for their extra efforts.

The Greek government has observed that the following change will streamline and simplify administration, reduce the Probation period to six and highlight the work of employees working overtime. The legislation also aims to fill the gaps in the skilled labour market by tackling the problem of undeclared work and offering free employee training as an incentive.

“upskill and adapt to evolving market demands,” said Savoidakis, who has over 15 years of legal experience. Importantly “the six-day workweek is not universally applicable but is restricted to certain business sectors.”

A Push Towards Lesser Work Hours In Europe

While the consensus amongst most European countries is to move towards fewer workweek hours so that people can achieve a better work-life balance, Greece has many challenges that it needs to overcome like high rates of unemployment and a declining population with fewer young people, and it is not the only such country.

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In various countries such as Germany, Belgium, France, the UK, Spain, and Iceland, companies have been testing alternative workweek structures. This includes condensing the traditional 40-hour workweek into four longer days of 10 hours each, or achieving 100% of the workload 80% of the time while maintaining full salary compensation.

Recently in Germany Deutsche Bahn the national railway company and the train driver’s union has agreed to slowly reduce the workweek hours from 38 to 35 and other sectors are also demanding a shorter workweek.

Greece Picking Up The Pace, But Brain Drain Continues

Greece, however, is taking a different approach. This isn’t the first instance where the country has faced the prospect of a six-day workweek. During the debt crisis that began in 2009 and nearly led to Greece exiting the eurozone, some creditors insisted on increased working hours.

Despite accepting billions of euros in bailouts tied to stringent austerity measures, Greece did not implement a sixth day of work. Greece has now picked up the pace and the growth rate of GDP is expected to be 2.2% this year and 2.3% in the next, which takes it above the Eurozone average. According to the reports by the European Commission unemployment is expected to be from 10.% to 9.7% in 2025.

Still, Greece is facing the problem of brain drain as many young individuals are able to grab better opportunities elsewhere. The population metrics don’t paint a good picture either with the population expected to sink from 10.7 million in 2019 to around 10.4 million in 2029 which would further put pressure on the economy that is already susceptible to the shortage of skilled labour in industries like agriculture tourism and construction.

Meanwhile, Greeks already work some of the longest hours per year, as reported by the OECD. While exact comparisons can be challenging due to varying methodologies, the trend is evident: Greeks work considerably more hours annually compared to their counterparts in the UK, US, and Germany.

Short-Term Fix or Long-Term Strategy?

Emmanouil Savoidakis from the Politis & Partners law firm in Athens says several corporate clients are already interested in a six-day workweek “to enhance their operational capacity and better serve their customers, particularly those in industries facing labour shortages and high seasonal demand.”

Jens Bastian from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin pointed out that implementing a six-day workweek is merely a short-term solution and cannot address Greece’s deeper economic challenges. Increasing working hours won’t resolve long-term workforce shortages, and it serves as a cautionary example for other countries facing similar issues.

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