4 ms·

Is it that rare? I thought that it was pretty common in Europe.

treve 6y ago
In the Netherlands (where I'm from) I know loads of people on 4 day workweeks. It's often an option, and there's very few drawbacks for employee and employer. The 20% paycut is pre-tax, so the real cut is a lot lower. It also lets employers hire a 5th person for every 4 80%s, so total productivity is likely higher due to people being happier, and there's more jobs total. It's hard for me to imagine why tech companies wouldn't want to offer this to all their employees.
WJW 6y ago
Over here in the Netherlands there is a law that makes it compulsory for the employer to agree to this kind of request, unless they can prove it is impossible to keep the business going otherwise (ie, "but we'd have to hire more people" is not a valid reason). There are a few minor restrictions like having had a permanent contract for at least six (I think) months, but otherwise any employee can request this.
balfirevic 6y ago
Europe is big and varied. Where I live (Croatia) I only know of one person who did it and it was only because he practically already accepted another job offer and the current company said "Alright, what can we do to keep you?" (and the salary scaled accordingly). I'm sure there are other similar cases, but overall it's pretty rare here.
GordonS 6y ago
I'm in the UK, and have yet to come across anyone else doing it, though several of my European colleagues seem to be. In the EU, employers have to, by law, consider reasonable requests for flexible working. If you work for a large company, that should mean most will have the option.
Someone 6y ago
https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/human-resources/employment-contracts/part-time-work/index_en.htm https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/human-resources/employ...: “Equal employment conditions You must offer your part‑time staff the same employment conditions as full-time workers, including pay, leave, notice periods and other rights and benefits linked to their employment. Modifying working arrangements Whenever possible, you should try to accommodate requests from your employees if they want to change their working schedules, such as: - transferring from full-time to part-time - transferring from part-time to full-time - increasing their working hours You cannot dismiss an employee if they refuse to transfer from part-time to full-time work or vice versa.” Working hours per week by country in Europe (includes some non-EU countries) at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Hours_of_work_-_annual_statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...

In the Netherlands (where I'm from) I know loads of people on 4 day workweeks. It's often an option, and there's very few drawbacks for employee and employer. The 20% paycut is pre-tax, so the real cut is a lot lower. It also lets employers hire a 5th person for every 4 80%s, so total productivity is likely higher due to people being happier, and there's more jobs total. It's hard for me to imagine why tech companies wouldn't want to offer this to all their employees.

WJW 6y ago

Over here in the Netherlands there is a law that makes it compulsory for the employer to agree to this kind of request, unless they can prove it is impossible to keep the business going otherwise (ie, "but we'd have to hire more people" is not a valid reason). There are a few minor restrictions like having had a permanent contract for at least six (I think) months, but otherwise any employee can request this.

balfirevic 6y ago

Europe is big and varied. Where I live (Croatia) I only know of one person who did it and it was only because he practically already accepted another job offer and the current company said "Alright, what can we do to keep you?" (and the salary scaled accordingly). I'm sure there are other similar cases, but overall it's pretty rare here.

GordonS 6y ago

I'm in the UK, and have yet to come across anyone else doing it, though several of my European colleagues seem to be. In the EU, employers have to, by law, consider reasonable requests for flexible working. If you work for a large company, that should mean most will have the option.

Someone 6y ago

https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/human-resources/employment-contracts/part-time-work/index_en.htm https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/human-resources/employ...: “Equal employment conditions You must offer your part‑time staff the same employment conditions as full-time workers, including pay, leave, notice periods and other rights and benefits linked to their employment. Modifying working arrangements Whenever possible, you should try to accommodate requests from your employees if they want to change their working schedules, such as: - transferring from full-time to part-time - transferring from part-time to full-time - increasing their working hours You cannot dismiss an employee if they refuse to transfer from part-time to full-time work or vice versa.” Working hours per week by country in Europe (includes some non-EU countries) at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Hours_of_work_-_annual_statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...