If there was one measure that could immediately improve the quality of life or progress of your employees, what would it be? This is the second instalment in our series of New Year’s greetings from HR. Nine professionals from the sector have agreed to share their list. On Tuesday, we asked them . On Thursday, we’ll ask them what radical decision would immediately transform the way they recruit, retain or train in 2026.
-Our witnesses: Delphine Bath (chief HR officer, La Mondiale Europartner), Laurent Derkum (director HR, marketing, communication and ESG, Raiffeisen), Christopher Frères (head of human resources, LuxSE), Géraldine Hassler (head of people & culture, KPMG Luxembourg), Christelle Noel (senior HR marketing project manager, Dussmann), Lise Roda (head of HR Europe, Pictet), Karine Rollot (DRH, Robert Schuman Hospitals), Olivier Schmitt (DRH, CHL), Myriam Sibenaler (head of HR, ABBL).
Wish no. 1: right to training
(Raiffeisen): “If one measure were to immediately enhance the quality of life and progress of employees, it would be to make training during working hours a genuine right: legible, personalised and career-oriented, and no longer just a scheme. At Raiffeisen Bank, investment in training is already a strong reality. The challenge for 2026 is therefore not to do more, but to better structure and make visible the impact of this effort: to clarify the bridges between skills acquired and professional development, to make career paths more individualised and to enable everyone to plan their own development in concrete terms.
When training becomes a central element of the career path - integrated into working time, recognised by management and linked to prospects for career development - it improves not only employability, but also a sense of control, meaning and fairness. In a context of continuous transformation, long-term investment in skills also means offering employees a form of professional security and a quality of life that goes beyond the organisation of work alone.”
In functions subject to high peaks in activity, such as external audit, employees could, for example, work 9 hours a day from January to June (...), then 7 hours a day from July to December.
Myriam Sibenaler (ABBL): “I remain convinced that an effective right to training, as we have put in place in the collective agreement for bank employees, is an essential lever. In an ever-changing world of work, quality of life and career progression depend first and foremost on the long-term employability of employees. Training should no longer be an option, but a genuine shared strategic lever. We firmly believe in a collaborative approach, in which employers and employees move forward together to meet the challenges of tomorrow. On our side, we provide the necessary tools, resources and opportunities; employees, for their part, are actively involved in developing and updating their skills.”
Wish no. 2: individualised pathways
Karine Rollot (Robert Schuman Hospitals): “Offering more individualised career paths would strengthen trust, commitment and the feeling of recognition, while reducing stress and the risk of burnout. A more flexible organisation allows employees to develop at their own pace, to train, reorientate or take on more responsibility, without necessarily having to choose between performance and personal balance. This has a direct impact on motivation, talent retention and overall performance. Employees who feel listened to and supported are more committed, more innovative and more durable in their commitment. In short, an agile work organisation is a major strategic lever for immediately improving quality of life, supporting career paths and preparing the company for the challenges of tomorrow.”
Wish no. 3: non-billable time
Christelle Noel (Dussmann): “Recognise and economically support time that is not billable but essential - training, transmission, support in the field. It is this often invisible time that conditions the quality of service, the progression of skills and the solidity of teams over time.”
Wish no. 4: Working time
(KPMG Luxembourg): “If there was one measure that could immediately improve the quality of life and progress of our employees in 2026, I would choose the introduction of a seasonal modulation of working hours, framed by an agreement with the staff delegation. Inspired by existing practices in other countries, in particular Turkey where I did an international exchange in 2008, this approach would enable working hours to be adapted to operational realities and the seasonal nature of the business, rather than imposing a uniform distribution of working hours throughout the year.
Concretely, in functions subject to strong peaks in activity, such as external auditing, employees could, for example, work 9 hours a day from January to June, a period of high customer demand, then 7 hours a day from July to December, when activity is quieter, while respecting an average annual working time in line with the legal framework. Such a measure would have an immediate impact: flexibility expected by employees, who would benefit from lighter periods for recuperation and training; greater attractiveness and increased retention of talent, particularly among the new generations who are sensitive to the work/life balance; a secure collective framework thanks to the agreement of the staff delegation, guaranteeing fairness and compliance with labour law. Collectively supervised and based on average annual working time, this modulation would represent a modern and pragmatic development in labour law, reconciling economic efficiency and employee expectations.”
Wish no. 5: cross-border teleworking
Delphine Bath (La Mondiale Europartner): “I would favour a review of the cross-border teleworking thresholds (the tax tolerance thresholds for working outside Luxembourg) to bring them into line with the social security thresholds and to allow one day a week of teleworking. The majority of our employees come from France and Belgium, so this would promote greater fairness and improve employees’ quality of life by reducing the arduousness of travel. It would also enhance Luxembourg’s attractiveness as an employer and help retain talent.”
I would introduce a mandatory, protected professional breathing time.
Wish no. 6: housing and mobility
(LuxSE): “I would focus on two crucial aspects: property prices and improving mobility in Luxembourg. Firstly, the high cost of property in Luxembourg represents a major challenge for many employees. By putting in place policies to make housing more affordable, we would enable our employees to live closer to their place of work, improving their work-life balance. Secondly, improving mobility would cut journey times, reduce road congestion and could offer greener public transport alternatives.”
Olivier Schmitt (HRD, CHL): “Most likely easier access for employees to settle in the immediate vicinity of their workplace or a direct mobility point. The constraints associated with commuting issues weigh heavily on employees’ quality of life and are a brake on the attractiveness of our organisations.”
Wish no. 7: “professional breathing time”
(head of HR Europe, Pictet): “I would introduce mandatory, protected professional breathing time. Not as a perk, but as a collective discipline. In a world saturated with information, urgency and demands, the real scarcity is no longer time, but the ability to think clearly. Providing a structured space to slow down, learn and take a step back improves the quality of decisions, enhances creativity and supports sustainable performance. Slow work is not a luxury: it is a strategic tool for clear thinking, progress and organisational health. Slowing down becomes an act of conscious performance, not renunciation.”