DKK 16.4 billion every year. That's how much stress costs Danish companies, according to a study from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment. And work-related stress costs society around DKK 27 billion a year. But if companies increase their insight into employee working hours, including absenteeism, breaks and rest periods, they can better recognise negative patterns and treat stress in time.
2023 has set a negative record for workplace stress and wellbeing issues, but the major pension companies in Denmark predict that 2024 will be an even more stressful year. In this article, we take a closer look at how the new EU law on working time recording, which comes into force on 1 July 2024, can be seen as an important step towards more transparency in employees' actual daily working hours, which can provide the right knowledge base to prevent stress and maintain a good work-life balance for employees. Here are some ways in which the law can have a positive impact:
Clearer boundaries between work and leisure
The Working Time Act can help establish clear boundaries between work and leisure by ensuring that employees do not exceed maximum working hours and get adequate rest between work periods. This can reduce the risk of overtime and burnout.
Continued opportunity for flexible working life
Some may fear that the new registration requirement will limit employee flexibility, but it doesn't have to be that way. When employees get a better overview of their tasks and deadlines - including their planned work and the hours they have actually worked - via the system, it will also give them the opportunity to better organise when they want to work and when they are entitled to time off. If you prefer a more flexible workday where you can, for example, pick up your children early and work a few hours in the evening, this is still an option as long as you stay within the framework and deadlines you have been given.
Higher awareness of working time standards
The law can increase employees' awareness of their rights and working time standards. This can give them more confidence to enforce the rules and communicate with the employer about any violations, which can help prevent unhappiness.
Preventing unhealthy work habits
Recording working hours can help identify patterns of overtime or irregular working hours, which can be detrimental to employees' health. By preventing these unhealthy work habits, the law can help promote wellbeing and health in the workplace.
Whether you already have a time tracking system in place or are about to implement it under the new legislation, the system can be used to gain reliable data insights into employees' working hours, breaks and rest periods, allowing administrators to both optimise work scheduling and track any unhealthy patterns.
Are you experiencing stress at work?
Stress and unhappiness in the workplace can have serious consequences for both the individual employee and workplace productivity. In our blog post about Illness as an indicator of unhappiness, you can learn how to recognise early signs of stress and unhappiness in order to prevent them.
Get the optimal data insights with Intempus and Power BI
Intempus time tracking makes it easy for employees to report the day's work, after which the data is collected in the administration system. From here, the administrator can check, correct and approve the data. If you choose to integrate Intempus with Microsoft Power BI, the data is then automatically transferred to the Power BI module for visualisation, analysis and reporting. This gives you the optimal data insight into employee work patterns while ensuring compliance with EU working time regulations.
Are you interested in hearing more? Then don't hesitate to contact us by phone at +45 26 390 400. You are also welcome to book a non-binding demo:
Sources: Borsen.dk, Jyllands-posten.dk, Finanswatch.dk
