In India, as in many other parts of the world, people are overworked and underpaid. Many of us have six-day weeks with more than eight-hour shifts. Hence we are stressed, depressed and unhappy. The government has not yet started taking conditions of the working class seriously, however that is not the case everywhere.
Finland became the centre of world¡¯s attention after it chose 34-year-old Sanna Marin as the head of the state. She is the youngest female head of government, worldwide. The centre-left government she leads, has five government parties, all which have women on top.
After becoming the? world¡¯s youngest Prime Minister she intends to set an example for the world by introducing a 4-day-week and the 6-hour-work day in Finland.
Marin has taken up the question of how long the Finns should work. According to a website, Scoop Me,?she recommended shorter working hours on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Turku. She introduced this idea when she was a Minister of Transport and Communications - back then she had said, ¡°A four-day work week, a six-hour workday. Why couldn¡¯t it be the next step? Is eight hours really the ultimate truth? I believe people deserve to spend more time with their families, loved ones, hobbies and other aspects of life, such as culture. This could be the next step for us in working life.¡±
Just like in many countries, 8-hour-days for five days a week has been the norm in Finland. The left alliance with which Marin has recently formed a coalition has allegedly demanded a test run for a 6-hour-day.?
If this working scheduled is passed, Finland will not be the first country to have six working hours.
In 2015, Gothenburg, Sweden¡¯s second largest city, reduced working time to six hours a day in the old peoples¡¯ homes and the municipal hospital, while making no change in the pay of the employees. Two years later, a study found that the employees were happier, healthier and more productive.?
Swedish Tech Industry as Pioneer
The tech industry in Sweden has been running on 6-hour-day for a lot of years. In 2003 the Toyota, Gothenburg plant switched to shorter working days with full pay.
Productivity of Toyota employees increased as they were satisfied and motivated.?
Last Year, Microsoft Japan experimented with shorter work weeks. In August 2019, 2,300 employees were given every Friday off for one month. The results showed a 40 percent increase in productivity as meetings were more efficient.?
So, there is statistical proof that shorter weeks and shorter working hours increase productivity and employee satisfaction. May be it's time companies in India started considering this too.?