You Might Want to Move to Sweden After Learning About Their Work Day
When it comes to maximizing your productivity, tech has you covered, from apps and desks and even tweets. But there might be something else out there that can make your productivity skyrocket — something that you can’t download or purchase in a store. Thanks to a few Swedish companies, people are taking a second look at a shorter work day for increased productivity.
According to The Guardian, several companies in Sweden are offering a six-hour work day as an alternative to the traditional eight-hour schedule. The benefits include having employees who are more efficient, healthier and, of course, happier, and who in turn do a better job. Getting paid the same wage for less time makes employees feel more invested in their work, the study says, and makes them more inclined to stay at a company longer. That company loyalty is better for overall profits, as well as employee satisfaction.
This isn’t the first time a six-hour work day has been instituted in Sweden; it also happened in the early ‘90s. Interestingly, the shift in and out of shorter work days is politically motivated: One side sees it as a better long-term investment for the communities, while the other sees it as a huge money suck. Even though people are working longer hours more so now than ever, it’s not always a productive use of time. Some argue that fewer hours means more productivity, more efficiency and a better overall work-life balance.
Sweden is feeling a political shift, as the party who is opposed to the shortened work day is coming back into power, so there’s likely to be yet another reinstatement of the eight-hour work day. Regardless, we’re pretty jealous of the Scandinavian country for even attempting the trial period. A work-life balance that makes sense is one of the true keys to happiness in the workplace.
Would you want to work a six-hour work day? Tell us in the comments!