The Generalitat has unveiled a roadmap with 55 measures to improve work-life balance. Key proposals include summer telework, flexible hours, and digital disconnection. The plan targets both private companies and public entities.
The Generalitat has called on businesses across Catalonia to introduce remote work options during the summer and to adopt more flexible schedules, as part of a sweeping new agenda aimed at improving work-life balance. The initiative, presented in Barcelona by the regional ministers for Equality and Feminism, Eva Menor, and for Business and Labour, Miquel Sàmper, sets out 55 measures designed to make it easier for employees to reconcile their professional and personal lives.
Among the most notable proposals are the possibility for employees to work remotely 100% during specific periods such as summer, school holidays, or emergencies, as well as the encouragement of digital disconnection outside working hours. The agenda also recommends that companies create on-site childcare facilities, extend leave policies beyond the traditional family model, and schedule meetings at times that support family life.
The plan, described by the Generalitat as a “country strategy,” comes just days after another controversial proposal surfaced, offering public employees up to 200 euros more per month if they forgo telework. This new roadmap, however, is intended as a guide for both private and public sectors, with the aim of adapting work-life balance policies to the realities of each workplace, sector, and region.
During the presentation, Eva Menor emphasized that work-life balance and shared responsibility should not be seen as private or family matters alone, but as tools for social transformation. She highlighted that women continue to bear a disproportionate share of domestic and care work, spending on average one hour and 17 minutes more per day on these tasks than men, and nearly tripling men’s involvement in family planning. Miquel Sàmper stressed that work-life balance is a right for all, and that companies must recognize these changes as necessary and irreversible for collective well-being.
The agenda identifies four main challenges: reorganizing work time and space, ensuring support services for families, changing perceptions around care responsibilities, and embedding shared responsibility into organizational culture and labor negotiations. The Generalitat plans to launch a digital tool by late 2026 to help companies and public bodies assess their own practices and identify the most suitable measures for their circumstances.
For context, Spain has seen a gradual shift towards flexible work arrangements since the pandemic, but implementation varies widely between regions and sectors. Catalonia’s new agenda reflects growing pressure on employers to address demographic challenges such as an aging population and low birth rates, as well as the need to boost competitiveness and sustainability. According to Eurostat, Spain’s rate of remote work remains below the EU average, despite high demand among employees for greater flexibility.
