The majority of Belgians prefer to maintain a working regime of five days a week

The majority of Belgians prefer to maintain a working regime of five days a week in order to preserve the balance between work and private life, according to a study by HR service provider Tempo-Team, carried out in collaboration with Professor Anja Van den Broeck, expert in work motivation at KU Leuven. The study surveyed a panel of 2,500 workers. One in two Belgians would even be ready to earn 10% less for more free time.

For a year, workers have had the opportunity to work a full schedule in 4 days, but only 1 in 200 use it, according to data published by Acerta. In addition, 74% of workers prefer to maintain the current regime and 57% of all workers surveyed say they are worried about the disadvantages of a full working week over 4 working days.

According to the Tempo-Team study, it is mainly employees (61.1%), much more than workers (47.3%), who fear the inconveniences of a 4-day working week. More than a quarter of employees (27.4%) compared to only 10.1% of workers say they are not able to complete all the necessary work in just 4 days, despite an extension of the daily schedule.

In addition, 20.9% of employees and 15.4% of workers also say that working full time over 4 days is more tiring and that the additional day of leave will mainly be used to recover.

Furthermore, half of the Belgian workers surveyed (51%) would be willing to earn 10% less in exchange for benefits improving the balance between private and professional life, for example free time or additional vacation days. Employees (54%) are more favorable to this idea than workers (46%).