Belgium has just approved the four-day work week, albeit with a major asterisk. It is a highly relevant topic It will also affect the employees that Apple has in the countrylike any other company. It is therefore another additional “problem” that the company must face, after the extension of teleworking and the delay in returning to the offices.
Four days of work, same hours worked per week
For a number of years now, the four-day work week has been gaining ground in public debate, although in Spain it does not convince unions or employers. The idea is to reduce the hours worked per week to 32 in order to have an extra day of rest and maintain the salary. The recently approved plan in Belgium is different, as it will allow those 40 hours per week to be reorganized in just 4 days instead of 5.
The result would be working an average of 10 hours a day instead of 8, charging the same. The impact on productivity and mental health is there, so it is more of a measure that allows the worker to put in more hours a week and have an extra day off if needed occasionally. It is not a permanent measure.
What this new labor reform really establishes is adding one more option for the worker to organize his week labor. Without a reduction in weekly hours worked, the salary is maintained but an additional day of rest is earned. The employee will be able to take advantage of it as best suits him if he so decides.
This measure does not oblige the employee to adopt this working week but rather offers it as an option.
Actually, is a variant of other measures such as flexible entry and exit. Certain companies offer their employees to clock in and out for a range of times, as long as they complete their hours. But until now it was not allowed to accumulate hours to not go to work for a whole day.
Telecommuting, hybrid model, the delay of the return to the office and now four-day weeks
During the pandemic, Apple gave most of its office workers around the world telecommuting, as long as their jobs allowed it. As vaccination progressed, Apple put the return to offices on the table, but with a model that balances virtual and in-person work. However, some employees rejected this hybrid model and resigned from their positions.
For Apple, doing without indefinite telecommuting is key to its corporate culture. Because has chosen to offer a model that allows teleworking for two days a week, forcing three of them to go to the office. Now, this model will not be implemented until we pass the Omicron wave, and at Apple they estimate that teleworking will continue beyond this month of February.
With all this in mind, now comes this new labor law in Belgium, which add options to employees. The company has an Apple Store in the country, as well as at least one corporate office. In retail, the employees rotate positions a lot and do not have a fixed schedule, but it is adapted to the needs of the week. In this case, it may not be so easy to accumulate hours and free up an additional day.
It may be less complex to adapt this model to office equipment, whose hours are constant. Although the reality is that in jobs of this type they will spend more hours than the official ones, as often happens. In this way, they may find a way to see that extra effort rewarded with an additional rest day a week.