Greece Introduces Six-Day Workweek for Certain Businesses to Boost Productivity and Employment
Greece has decided to implement a six-day workweek for certain enterprises to stimulate productivity and employment. This regulation, which came into effect on July 1, 2024, goes against the global trend of companies exploring shorter workweeks.
Under the new legislation, employees of private companies providing 24/7 services will have the option to work two hours more per day or eight hours more per week. This change means that a traditional 40-hour workweek could be extended to 48 hours per week in affected entities. The restaurant and tourism sectors are not affected by this initiative.
For the government, this measure is both worker-friendly and growth-oriented. It is designed to help employees who are not adequately compensated for their overtime and to combat the issue of undeclared work. However, unions and the opposition have strongly criticized this initiative, describing it as a significant step backward for a workforce that already works the most hours in the European Union. Greeks already work an average of 1,866 hours per year, more than Americans and Japanese.
The trend is moving towards a four-day workweek in most Western countries. Most companies that have tested this regime have made it a permanent policy, citing its positive impact on their organization.
In Tunisia, where the work culture has significantly deteriorated, the week is generally five days, but productivity is equivalent to two or three days of effective work in the vast majority of cases. In our opinion, switching to six days or four days will have no effect, as what matters is the employee's engagement, which is unfortunately lacking.