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2026-08-20 06:24 UTC → 2026-08-29 10:01 UTC ·
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Recent data highlights challenges regarding work-life Work-life balance and vacation rights for workers in Belgium. Surveys of entrepreneurs Belgium are facing significant challenges, characterized by rising stress, difficulty reclaiming leave, and increasing long-term absenteeism. Entrepreneurs and new business starters indicate rising report heightened stress levels and reduced leisure time. leisure. Approximately 23 percent of entrepreneurs work nearly every day during vacations, and 58 percent bring laptops on trips, which 56 percent of respondents say causes family tension. Lode Godderis, a professor of occupational medicine at KU Leuven, noted that family members can sense when an entrepreneur is “only physically present but mentally still working.” Additionally, 51 percent of entrepreneurs struggle to relax, and 39 percent report falling ill more frequently during holidays. Among new starters, stress levels rose from 38.4 percent to 44.8 percent, while the median number of vacation days for full-time self-employed individuals fell from 20 to 15 days over a two-year period. Separately, days. Regarding employee rights, a study of employees reveals difficulties in reclaiming vacation days lost to illness. Despite regulations introduced on January 1, 2024, which allow workers to reclaim sick days occurring during statutory leave, by Attentia shows that 74 percent of affected employees who fell ill during statutory leave failed to recover their time. lost vacation days despite 2024 regulations. Reasons for this include 51 percent of employees not requesting the days back and 23 percent facing refusals from supervisors. A lack of awareness supervisor refusals. Awareness is also a factor, with nearly one in four workers reporting they low, particularly among those under 35, where 31 percent had never heard of the regulation. Furthermore, Belgium is seeing a rise in long-term sickness, with 585,000 people unable to work for extended periods. Mental health issues, such as burnout and depression, are primary drivers; cases of long-term disability due to psychological problems rose nearly 25 percent between 2021 and 2025. Self-employed individuals saw a 65.1 percent increase in such cases. Meanwhile, 46 percent of enterprises do not strictly monitor absenteeism figures.