Female employees in Belgium work 11 more days per year than in 2014
Employees in Belgium work an average of almost seven days more per year than a decade ago. This increase is largely due to female employees, who work an average of 11 days more per year than in 2014, according to a survey of 340,000 employees carried out by HR service provider Acerta ahead of International Women's Day on 8 March.
Employees on open-ended contracts in Belgium work an average of around 33.5 hours per week. That is 1 hour and 7 minutes more each week than a decade ago. Assuming a 47-week working year, this means people now work around seven more days each year than they did in 2014.
Female employees worked an average of 1 hour and 50 minutes more in 2023 than in 2014, equivalent to 11 additional working days over the year. This is partly because 30 per cent more women have moved from part-time to full-time work in recent years. This is a striking trend given that in neighbouring countries France, the Netherlands and Germany, far fewer women have made this switch in recent years.
The increase in the number of hours worked by women can be seen both among blue-collar workers (1 hour and 53 minutes more a week on average) and white-collar workers (1 hour and 34 minutes more a week on average).
Acerta says there are a number of reasons for the increase. These include the expansion of systems that allow men to provide more support in the home, such as the extension of parental leave, and the rise of teleworking, which may have increased the willingness to work more hours. There are also financial and career-related reasons.
© PHOTO ARTERRA
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