Why Canada should consider following in Sweden’s footsteps
Is it possible that we can get more work done in six hours than we can in eight? According to a few exemplary companies in Sweden, we can. Swedish tech companies such as Filimundis and Brath have recently switched to a shorter, six-hour workday, and it has had surprising results for productivity.
“We get more done in six hours than comparable companies do in eight,” Brath wrote in a blog post earlier this month. “We believe nobody can be creative and productive in eight hours straight.”
Realistically think about how much time the average person wastes in their eight-hour workday. We surf the web, we check Facebook and Twitter, we find excuses to visit our coworkers, and go for extended coffee breaks. Why isn’t it possible to combine all of that wasted time and just head home early?
“We believe nobody can be creative and productive in eight hours straight.”
In the blog post, Brath owner states that one of the benefits to the six-hour workday is simply that competitors don’t have it. It makes gaining and keeping talent much easier when you are able to use this as a motivator.
Linus Feldt, CEO of Filimundus, a children’s game app development company, decided to implement the shorter work day for his company about a year ago. According to Global News, Feldt said, “What I noticed: instead of seeing my employees being exhausted, they were happy when they left and they were happy when they came in in the morning.”
Feldt continued, “At these times, I think people value time more than money.” This is an interesting concept and a statement I tend to agree with. Nowadays, many people have every minute of their day booked. They leave home in the morning to go to work, and when their workday is done, they run around from activity to activity—if they haven’t taken their work home with them.
“…one of the benefits to the six-hour workday is simply that competitors don’t have it. It makes gaining and keeping talent much easier…”
What could we do with two extra hours in a day? We could spend more time with our families, we could cook, pursue a hobby. Whatever it is you would choose to do, I think the idea is that it would make you happier and more fulfilled.
Is the six-hour workday something Canadians would like to see implemented? I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who would be upset to leave work two hours earlier each day.
In an effort to gauge whether or not the transition to a six-hour workday might be favourable among young people, I asked a few students at the University of Guelph to share their thoughts.
“At these times, I think people value time more than money.”
Fifth-year student Meghan Buckle told The Ontarion, “I think the atmosphere of a workplace is really important. If my boss decided to shorten the workday by a couple of hours, I would probably be happier in my job. Maybe that would make us all a bit more productive.”
Based on the results of the Swedish companies who have implemented the six-hour work day, I think this is something that might be worth a shot here at home. However, I don’t believe this model would be right for every company. There are certain industries, perhaps manufacturing or construction, where productivity would suffer if the workday was shortened.
While I think it can have its benefits, especially for the creative process, the six-hour workday is something that would have to be closely examined for each specific case.
Photo courtesy of Eric Bailey via CC0.