Belgium Welcomes 4-Day Workweek
Federal employees in Belgium gain the right to disconnect and can request a six-month trial of a four-day week.
Belgium has announced a new employee-empowerment policy for its federal civil servants. About 65,000 workers gain the "right to disconnect", which means they can decline work calls and emails outside working hours.
Workers can also ask to try a four-day workweek for six months, and then either stay on the shorter week or return to the usual schedule. The model does not cut total hours: the 38-hour week is compressed into four longer days.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described the reform as a way to make the economy more innovative, sustainable and digital, while labour minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne stressed that the choice rests with the worker.
