Catholic Bishops of the European Union Join Leaders Promoting a Work-free Sunday for Mental Health - European Sunday Alliance

European Sunday Alliance: “a synchronised quality resting time for an improved mental health of workers”
On the occasion of the European Day for a Work-free Sunday, the European Sunday Alliance (ESA) releases a statement to reiterate its call on political leaders to “establish a synchronised quality and social resting weekly time for workers in order to enable them to preserve their mental health”. Download the Statement
In a statement released on Friday 3 March 2023, the European Sunday Alliance calls on EU and national political leaders to put as a priority the establishment of a European weekly common day of rest for workers – by tradition on Sunday, as enshrined in Art. 2 of the European Social Charter.

In its statement, the Alliance highlights that a common day of rest during the week is a prerequisite for a healthy work-life balance and a recovery from daily stress. “Individuals are indeed social beings, part of a community, and their interpersonal relationships play a key role in their work-life balance, wellbeing, and recovery from work”, reads the statement.

Moreover, ESA points out that a common weekly resting time would be “an effective tool to counter loneliness”, which is a growing phenomenon impacting negatively the work-life balance and well-being of workers. According to a research commissioned by the EU, in 2020, 25% of EU citizens felt lonely more than half of the time.

The European Sunday Alliance also launched a video campaign to raise awareness among EU and national political leaders, as well as private citizens, about the positive effects of a synchronised weekly day of rest. All videos can be viewed on ESA’s social media accounts –

H.E. Mgr. Antoine Hérouard, President of the COMECE Social Affairs Commission, participated in the ESA video campaign. In his video contribution, he stated that “everyone should be able not to work on Sunday and to spend time with the family, volunteering, doing sport, engaging in social, cultural, spiritual and religious activities”. Watch the video of Mgr. Hérouard (above) COMECE is a founder member of the European Sunday Alliance. The Alliance is a broad network of more than 100 national Sunday alliances, trade unions, employers’ organisations, civil society associations, Churches and religious communities in the European Union. The Alliance is committed to raise awareness about the unique value of Sunday for our society and on the importance of a common day of rest. In the coming weeks, the Alliance will launch its new website:

www.europeansundayalliance.eu Press Release COMECE