Psychologist Thijs Launspach is a stress expert and author of the book Breeding pressure† He marvels at modern working and gives tips every week for more happiness and less stress at work. Today: the right to work for four days
Remarkable news from our southern neighbors last week. The new Belgian labor agreement gives Belgians the right to a four-day working week. The Belgians (at least, those who work in the private sector) are given the choice not to work the standard five, but four days – with full pay. If they choose to do so, they may be required to work a little longer on those days: a maximum of 9.5 hours.
The Belgians are also given the right to inaccessibility in the agreement. This right, which has already been introduced in France, means that employees no longer have to be available outside working hours to take calls, view text messages or answer emails – with the exception of highly exceptional and urgent situations. An unsolicited imperative email from the boss at 7.30 in the evening to prepare for tomorrow’s emergency meeting, so Belgians don’t have to worry about that anymore.
More time to relax and recover
A three-day weekend, and the evenings and weekends work-free again – according to the Belgian cabinet, this makes working more pleasant and healthier. This creates more time for the children, for volunteer work or informal care – or simply more time to spend on the other things in life that are important besides work. More time to relax and recover, leaving the work phone in your pocket: it’s a good way to reduce stress and burnout, according to research.
It is striking: in the Netherlands the introduction of laws on these rights has so far invariably been rejected, because ‘not realistic’ and ‘annoyingly bureaucratic’. Despite the fact that trade unions have been calling for measures to make working healthier for years, despite the fact that research shows that these kinds of measures simply work, and despite the fact that we are dealing with an undiminished high number of burn-outs. In the Netherlands, the interests of the employer are still much more important than that of the employee. And then our neighbors just do it!
In the Netherlands, we still consider the employer’s interest a lot more important than that of the employee
If we have learned anything from the corona crisis, it is that we can change the way we work if the need is high enough. If measures are now available that ensure less stress and more happiness at work, isn’t that also a reason to rethink our way of working? Because if the Belgians can do it, so can we.
Thijs Launspach is a psychologist and stress expert. He wrote the books Fokking Druk (2018), Working with millennials (2019) and Werk kan uit (2020) about this.
Do you suffer from (work) stress? Thijs Launspach previously discussed with Arie Boomsma what you can do to prevent a burnout:
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