But worker advocates say that the new legislation probably won’t produce the desired results and instead could cause unintended consequences such as high turnover, burnout, illness and even death.
“It definitely feels like a step in the wrong direction and shortsighted,” said Malissa Clark, director of the University of Georgia’s Healthy Work Lab, which studies work-life balance. “We know long work hours are detrimental to employee health.”
In the US, 77% of workers believe a four-day, 40-hour workweek would have an extremely or somewhat positive effect on their well-being, according to a recent Gallup survey.
US companies that have piloted or adopted shortened workweeks say they have seen the benefits.
In many parts of Asia and other developing countries, a six-day work week is routine.
But globally, more countries are also looking at slashing hours. France is among the most recent countries to pilot a four-day workweek, while Belgium became the first country to officially approve the shortened week back in 2022.
Other countries that have been experimenting with the four-day workweek include Iceland, Japan and South Africa.
But hurdles to the wide adoption of the shorter week persist as many worry about staffing issues, potential productivity drops, increased costs and complex changes to operations.
Greece’s move goes against much research that shows increasing hours actually hurts productivity rather than boosts it, said Brigid Schulte, director of the work-family justice programme Better Life Lab at think tank New America.
Instead, increasing hours often leads to workers making more mistakes, being slower on tasks, and suffering from exhaustion, stress and illness.
“The proof will be in the evidence,” Schulte said. “If all of a sudden Greece turns around its economy, maybe people will take a second look. But I don’t think that will happen.”
Schulte also said policies like this often hurt caregivers and women, which then lowers employee and leadership diversity and increases the gender pay gap.
Greece’s legislation opens the door to allowing people to work a 48-hour workweek but does not require it.
And European Union laws require employers to ensure employees don’t exceed 48 hours a week on average, including overtime. But Clark says Greece’s legislation only creates the perception of choice because the increase in pay incentivises people to work longer.
“You’re making it difficult to turn [the pay] down,” she said. “Also, what are the norms and expectations going to be in the organisation?”
While Greece is going against the grain and adoption of the shorter workweek has been slow, Schulte and Clark say future trends probably indicate fewer working hours versus more.
Companies will continue learning how to make their processes more efficient, leverage tech and discover the benefits to workers and profits, they predict.
“It’s like an organisational excellence mission in disguise,” Schulte said. “Shorter work hours is better for business, people and the economy, if you do it right.”
Danielle Abril covers technology and its impact on workers across industries for The Washington Post.
