A Four-Day Week for the Same Pay? This Country’s Making It Happen

Thanks to a labor reform package, Belgium workers just gained stronger legal protections, including the right to choose a four-day week, a step in the right direction for a healthier balance between work life and personal life.

“With this agreement, we set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable, and digital. The aim is to be able to make people and businesses stronger,” says Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo.

Through the package, workers — both from the public and the private sectors — gain the right to turn off work devices after hours without fear of reprisal and to ask for more flexible schedules. The latter will greatly accommodate divorced or separated parents who share custody of their children. Under Belgium law, the four-day week remains a 38-hour working week but with an additional day off to compensate for long workdays.