Study shows Belgians work less in the evening, at night and on weekends, than their European counterparts

Belgians work less in the evening, at night and on weekends than their European counterparts, according to data for 2018 gathered by the Flemish think-tank Het Steunpunt Werk, reported the Belgian news outlet VRT NWS.

About one in ten people work according to schedules that vary considerably from the traditional 9-17 schedule.

3% of Belgian workers (3% in Flanders, 3.1% in Wallonia and 2.8% in Brussels) work at night, a percentage that has remained stable in recent years. The European average stands at 5.7%.

 

 

As for evening and shift work, Belgium is also below the European standard: 8.2% of Belgians work in the evening (against 13.2% of Europeans) and 7.4% in shifts, against 18.3% of other Europeans.

As for the weekend, 17.6% of Belgians are at their desks on Saturday, against 21.7% in Europe. One in ten workers in Belgium is also active on Sundays; a figure that continues to increase given that it was only 7% in the early 2000s.