Is a 6-Hour Workday More Productive? A City in Sweden Wants to Find Out
Leave it to the country that eats food out of tubes and keeps it green by charging for grocery store bags to really redefine efficiency. Now, the Swedes are back at it with a plan to increase productivity by decreasing work hours.
The municipal council of Gothenburg has decided to move forward with an experiment to see whether six-hour workdays will help boost efficiency, cut down on sick days, and help save their government money. According to Mats Pilhem, Left Party deputy mayor of Gothenburg, the city’s issues aren’t a question of being short-staffed but, rather, an issue of people working inefficiently over long shifts. Cutting down those hours will encourage them to use their time more wisely.
Pilhem explained that they’ll be running the plan in an experimental phase first with two municipal departments. One department will work the shorter, six-hour days, while the other will work the normal 40-hour week. Employees in both departments will receive the same pay. After the testing period is over, staff efficiency will be compared, including the number of sick days taken as well as the emotional and mental status of the employees in the experiment.
The Experiment Details
One municipal department will work 6-hour days while a control group keeps 40-hour weeks, both with identical pay, to compare efficiency and well-being.
In fact, the Swedes aren’t the first to consider the idea that fewer work hours can lead to more productivity. A piece in The Economist from last year looked at the relationship between productivity and work hours in various countries and found that “more productive — and, consequently, better-paid — workers put in less time at the office.” But a word of caution to employers: In the end, it’s not the higher pay that incentivizes workers, it’s the amount of time they’re forced to spend at work. That same article found that higher pay can actually lead workers to slack off more. The New York Times also researched the hotly debated topic and, in what seems like a case of common sense (but based on the average work hours among Americans doesn’t seem to be the case) found that getting more time to exercise, relax, and take vacation can actually help increase performance, whereas eating lunch at your desk or waking up to read emails can actually set a tone for frustration and anger. The New York Times explained that sleep deprivation caused by work anxiety is a leading cause of “on-the-job-burnout,” costing American companies $63.2 billion a year in lost productivity.
“more productive, and, consequently, better-paid, workers put in less time at the office.”
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That said, those toothpaste tube meals are starting to look pretty darned appetizing, aren’t they?
[Pic via Flickr - jeffwilcox]
