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How is working time changing globally? In our latest Innangard podcast on this subject, experts from Italy, Mexico, Turkey, and Germany, explored the latest developments in working time regulations and trends. In this article, we bring you the key takeaways of this podcast.

Maximum Legal Working Hours by Country:

• Italy and Germany: 48 hours per week, with 11 hours of mandatory rest between shifts.
• Mexico: 48 hours per week with one day off.
• Turkey: 45 hours per week, with a maximum of 11 hours per day.

Typical Working Week:

• Italy: 40 hours over five days, with six-day weeks common in some industries.
• Mexico: White-collar workers often complete 48 hours in five days, while unionized workers spread the same hours over six days.
• Turkey: Office workers usually work five days, while blue-collar workers often have a six-day workweek.

Trend Towards a Four-Day Workweek:

• In Italy, companies in automotive and banking sectors are testing the four-day workweek, though it«s still temporary and experimental.
• Mexico: Lawmakers are considering reducing the 48-hour workweek to 40 hours, though there«s resistance from employers.
• Germany: Some companies are experimenting with a four-day workweek with or sometimes without adjustment in pay.

Part-Time Work:

• Germany: Employees have the legal right to change to part-time work, though this sometimes leads to disputes.
• Mexico: Part-time work is available but not legally allowed to reduce hours and salary proportionally unless in exceptional circumstances.
• Turkey: Part-time work is rare and employers are not obligated to grant requests for reduced hours except specific situations like childcare under some conditions.

Flexibility in Working Time:

• Countries like Germany and Italy are seeing increased demand from employees for flexible working hours post-pandemic.
• Turkey: Flexible working is allowed to a certain extent although in practise it is not very common. There«s concern flexibility could undermine workers' rights to rest.

Right to Disconnect:

• The EU mandates an 11-hour rest period between working days, but it«s difficult to enforce in practice.
• Turkey: Regulations protect the right to rest of the employees, but in practise employees are often contacted outside regular working hours without compensation.
• Italy: Growing interest in »disconnecting,« but cultural shifts are still needed. Some large companies are considering the introduction of an email block outside working hours.
• Mexico: No explicit legal right to disconnect, but employers are beginning to recognize the importance of work-life balance.

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Listen to the full podcast here:

Soundcloud:

https://on.soundcloud.com/feCEfJg8Z3DdPW7c8

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DxF9PWPQsMC49AKde64f5?si=8592bd3da8eb4941

Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-clock-is-ticking-working-time-precedents-and/id1444963740?i=1000665122186