Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene has reiterated her belief that a four-day workweek is part of the future of work, but experts say there is still a long way to go.
LRT Brussels correspondent Milda Vilikanskyte noted that the idea of a four-day workweek gained support during the Covid-19 pandemic, when remote work blurred the lines between work and private life, and many experienced burnout. Belgium became the first European country to allow a four-day workweek in 2022. True, this provision operates on a voluntary basis – employees can request such a work format, and there must be very strong justification for the employer to refuse to implement it. However, the option is rarely used. In 2025, only 0.8% of employees and 3% of entrepreneurs will use it. The main reason, according to Vilikanskite, is that the total working hours per week do not decrease, and 40 hours are worked over four days, ten hours each. This can mean more daily stress, even if Fridays are free.
Trade unions in Lithuania also emphasize this aspect. Dalia Jakutavice, the president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation, said that people thought that they would be able to work four days and nothing would change. However, if working hours are not shortened, this simply means longer working days.
Only a reduction in the total working hours per week would create more free time.
Several Lithuanian companies have tried this model. Technology company OBDeleven offered employees to try a four-day work week – on the condition that productivity is maintained. The company’s marketing director, Juozapas Preiksa, noted that the results were mixed. Initially, it caused additional stress and dissatisfaction, especially in customer service and logistics departments, where continuous availability was important. However, over time, employees learned to plan better and made their work more efficient. Preiksa warned that the system works worse where employees must always be available, for example, if a programmer has Fridays off, but a client has problems, chaos begins.
The Lithuanian Labor Law does not prevent companies from experimenting with different work schedules, and they can try different options, such as reducing working hours and pay, or arranging the necessary hours in fewer days. Hybrid models can also be created, when the schedule requires working 32 hours, and the remaining time is simply available if necessary.
Employers, in turn, believe that the Lithuanian economy is not ready for a shorter workweek.
Egle Stonkute, an economist at the Lithuanian Industry Association, said that neither technology nor the use of artificial intelligence was yet at a level that would allow for reduced working hours without reducing competitiveness. There is also a shortage of labor in Lithuanian industry. Stonkute also pointed to the demographic situation – the population was aging and there was an increasing shortage of labor, so it was not expected that anyone would work even more.
“Reducing hours may be inevitable, but how to compensate for lost productivity remains unanswered,” the economist said.
Preiksa sees artificial intelligence as a possible solution, but warned that it cannot move too quickly – Lithuania must first strengthen its position in the international market. He said that it must first reach the level of the European Union, and then it will be possible to relax. (BNN)