While the four-day workweek has picked up steam in many European countries and even at some U.S. companies, Greece is going in the opposite direction.
The plan bucks the trend of shortening the workweek to four days, which research has shown benefits productivity and employee well-being and satisfaction. Greece’s government suggests the move will relieve labor shortages, ensure workers get paid for overtime and address tax evasion issues as it relates to undeclared work. But worker advocates say that Greece’s new legislation probably won’t produce the desired results and instead could cause unintended consequences such as high turnover, burnout, illness and even death.
“It definitely feels like a step in the wrong direction and shortsighted,” said Malissa Clark, director of the University of Georgia’s Healthy Work Lab, which studies work-life balance. “We know long work hours are detrimental to employee health.”
In the U.S., 77 percent of workers believe a four-day, 40-hour workweek would have an extremely or somewhat positive effect on their well-being, according to a recent Gallup survey. U.S. companies that have piloted or adopted shortened workweeks say they have seen the benefits.
