Is it possible to do more in 6 hours of work than in 8 hours

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Is it possible to work 6 hours a day and do even more than the standard schedule? The authorities of the Swedish city of Gothenburg believe that it is possible. An experiment will soon begin to prove that a 36-hour work week increases productivity.

A 40-hour working week is considered the norm in Russia, and in many European countries - Germany, France, Denmark, Great Britain, Norway - the number of working hours is gradually decreasing. Is this only related to a developed economy and a high standard of living, or is it possible to achieve greater productivity by reducing working hours? In the Swedish city of Gothenborg, they decided to test this experimentally.

Some government workers in Gothenburg in Sweden are participating in an interesting experiment this summer. They try to work 6 hours a day with a standard salary.

The project, which will last for a year, will start on July 1. The workers will be divided into two groups. One group will work on a shorter schedule - 6 hours a day, and their colleagues from the second group - as usual, 8 hours a day.

It is believed that fewer hours of focused work will help increase productivity. It is not known exactly why such assumptions were made, but the experiment should prove or disprove this point of view.

In the culture of American workaholics who are on caffeine, it is customary to work long hours and remain productive. In the OECD countries, which are often more developed, with a high standard of living, on the contrary, there is a decrease in the productivity of employees with an increase in the number of working hours.

Here are two more graphs that show how the number of hours worked per week affects GDP. The first graph shows the number of hours worked per week.

The second is the average productivity of workers per hour of labor (if the indicator is above 100, the GDP per hour is higher than the EU average).

For example, as you can see below, Greeks spend more time at work, but they are not the most productive workers.

Experiment in the 20th century

The Swedish experiment is not the first attempt to increase productivity by reducing working hours. Back in 1930, during the Great Depression, grain tycoon V. K. Kellogg decided to conduct an experiment. He replaced three 8-hour shifts at his Battle Creek, Michigan plant with four 6-hour shifts. As a result, the company hired hundreds of new people, production costs fell and productivity increased. This system was in effect until 1985.

Economist John Maynard Keynes predicted back in the early 20th century that by 2030, only the most dedicated people would work more than 15 hours a week.

But, as noted in the online magazine Quartz, Keynes announced this around the same time that Ford made the 40-hour week a standard of work.

Maybe at that time the number of working hours was still important for productivity. Now the situation is gradually changing, and this is due to the specifics of modern professions.

Long does not mean good

Now the economy is more dominated by professions associated with mental work. And here the principle does not apply, according to which, working 20% longer, you can do 20% more. The same applies to creative professions.

Psychology is more important here. For example, an employee completes tasks much faster if you define specific deadlines for the task.

Another disadvantage of a long working day is its negative impact on health. Strenuous work for many hours a day undermines health, which in the future threatens with disability and costs of treatment.

However, the optimal number of working hours and working hours have not yet been established. Perhaps the results of the experiment in Sweden will show whether it is really worthwhile to reduce the number of working hours or it is better to leave it as it is.