Why did Greece switch to a six-day workweek?

While some countries around the world are considering moving to a four-day workweek, Greece is heading in the opposite direction.

This policy, approved as part of the labor law announced by Mitsotakis's right-wing government last September, came into effect on July 1.

According to Greece's new law, employers can have employees work a sixth day by paying 40% more than the daily wage for the extra working day.

For example, if a worker’s daily wage is 100 Euros and they previously earned 500 Euros a week, their weekly earnings will rise to 640 Euros. If a company adopts this working arrangement, it must apply it uniformly to all its employees.

In Turkey, according to labor law, employees can be made to work on the 6th day without any pay.

In Greece, employees will also be allowed to take on a second part-time job and work up to a total of 13 hours a day, meaning an employee could work up to 78 hours a week.

WHY DID GREECE CHANGE ITS WORKING SYSTEM?

Mitsotakis said the new regulation was necessary due to the aging population and the shortage of skilled workers. According to Eurostat, more than 500,000 Greeks have left the country since the debt crisis erupted in 2010.

According to Eurostat, Greeks already work longer hours than most Europeans.

However, unions argue that the law will worsen working conditions, increase burnout, and reduce workers' quality of life.

George Dimitriadis, an executive at the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), said, "This approach is reactionary and not aligned with modern trends that promote work-life balance and the improvement of employees' well-being."

Dimitriadis added, "While supporters argue that a six-day workweek will increase productivity, GSEE fears the long-term consequences will be negative, leading to higher health costs and decreased productivity due to burnout."

THE WORLD IS MOVING TOWARDS A FOUR-DAY WORKWEEK

Greece's shift to a six-day workweek is also seen as contrary to global trends.

While Greece is moving towards a longer workweek, the trend in other countries is to shorten the number of working days.

In 2022, Belgium passed a law allowing workers to reduce the number of days they work from five to four. In April of this year, Singapore also announced that it would move towards a shorter working week.

Additionally, similar pilot programs have been tested in the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Canada, Spain, Ireland, and Iceland.

In the UK, 54 out of 61 companies that experimented with a four-day workweek continued with the system, and 31 said they would make the transition permanent.

In 2022, one of the world’s largest trials of shorter working hours showed that workers who worked four days were as productive as those working a five-day week.

An organization called 4 Day Week Global conducted a trial in Ireland with 33 companies and more than 900 employees, describing it as "a success resonating on nearly every dimension."

The organization’s pilot programs also yielded positive results in non-Western economies like South Africa and Brazil, with increases seen in both incomes and employee well-being.