The four-day working week back to the attention of the European Union
The idea of the four-day work week is back. Even the European Commissioner for Labor and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, says that the European Union should make efforts in this direction, especially for sectors with labor shortages, writes euronews.ro.
The commissioner declared himself "open" to the idea. In an interview with the Portuguese news agency Lusa, Nicolas Schmit pointed out that the new generations have a different view on the balance between work and personal life. The commissioner added that "there is no common position" in the EU on the shortened working week, but an agreement can be reached between the social partners.
Nicolas Schmit gave the example of Germany, where unions demand a four-day work week and some companies adopt this solution as a recruitment benefit, especially in the troubled transport sector.
In Portugal such a pilot project started, but not all companies agree with its implementation.
At the same time, 80% of Romanian employees are open to trying the four-day work week, according to a survey conducted in February by BestJobs.
The main reason so many employees would like to work just 4 days a week is "improved work-life balance" - 75%, closely followed by "more free time to do things for my mental and physical health" - 74%.
However, although Romanian employees want to work fewer days per week, only 37% of recruiters consider a work schedule of 4 days per week would work for the company where they work.
On the other hand, 18% of respondents said they would not want to work four days a week, while 12% said they did not know if they would be open to such a work schedule.
