Country's radical six-day work week could solve $131 billion Aussie problem: 'Struggling'

Greece is bringing in a six-day work week for some employees. So do we need to be worried in Australia? (Source: Getty)

Greece has become the first European country to introduce a six-day working week. While the controversial move may seem “outlandish” to some Aussies, the reality is that some workers are already doing that and not being compensated.

Under the new Greek law, businesses who provide 24/7 services will be able to introduce a 48-hour working week. Employees will have the option of working an extra 2 hours per day, or an extra 8-hour shift, in return for a top-up fee of 40 per cent added to their daily wage.

HR expert Jonathon Woolfrey told Yahoo Finance it was “very unlikely” Australia would follow suit and introduce a six-day work week, particularly as more businesses move in the opposite direction towards four-day weeks.

RELATED

• Controversial work act all Aussies bosses should ban: 'Blunt'

• Young Aussie blasts common work trend: 'Rude'

• Sick leave rule Australia should adopt as ‘harsh’ work act lashed

“We’re seeing economies like Australia and Greece struggling to get the number of hours out of their workforce from skilled professionals that they need to be able to be productive and do their jobs,” Woolfrey said.

While Greece’s response to boost productivity has been to increase working hours, Woolfrey said other countries were going the opposite direction.

“On the side of the equation, employees are working an unexceptional amount of unpaid overtime or feeling unproductive and burnt out for a whole range of reasons,” he said.

“They are going the other way and saying five days a week is a real struggle for us. We’ve seen a number of sectors of our economy or our workforce really advocating strongly for a four-day work week and going the opposite way.”

Could longer weeks address unpaid overtime?

Along with boosting productivity, Greece’s government has argued bringing in six-day work weeks will address issues of employees working unpaid overtime. It's something Woolfrey said was a “real challenge” in Australia too.

Aussie employers are doing an extra 5.4 hours of unpaid work every week on average, according to the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, or more than seven weeks per year.

That adds up to 281 hours over the year, which is costing the average worker $11,055 in unpaid overtime.

That's a $131 billion problem across the Australian workforce.

Greeks currently have the longest hours in Europe, with workers putting in an average of 41 hours a week, according to Eurostat.

For Aussies who are already working unpaid overtime, Woolfrey said the opportunity to work that extra day and “formalise it and get paid for it through overtime” could be a way of being recognised for work they are already doing.

But rather than bringing in a blanket six-day work week for employers like Greece has done, Woolfrey said it was about creating flexible working arrangements for employees.

“I think it boils down to flexibility to meet people where they’re at,” he said.

“If a worker wants to work four days a week, how can we accommodate that? Versus some workers may, and it’s probably the minority, want to work six days a week, how can we accommodate that?”

4-day work week gains traction

It comes as more and more Aussie businesses embrace the four-day work week.

Woolworths became the latest company to allow its 14,000 full-time workers to work longer days in a shorter working week. Last year, hardware giant Bunnings agreed to a similar agreement.

Health insurer Medibank announced it would be launching a six-month trial based on the 100:80:100 model where workers get 100 per cent of their pay while working 80 per cent of their regular hours and maintaining 100 per cent productivity.

Twenty-six Aussie businesses participated in a six-month trial with 4 Day Work Week Global in August 2022. The overwhelming majority (95 per cent) reported “great satisfaction” with business productivity, performance and the ability to attract employees.

Companies also saw a 44 per cent reduction in absenteeism and a 9 per cent reduction in resignations.

Get the latest Yahoo Finance news - follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.