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Sunday, May 22nd, 2016

In Sweden, an Experiment Turns Shorter Workdays Into Bigger Gains

Author:     LIZ ALDERMAN
Source:     The New York Times
Publication Date:     MAY 20, 2016
 Link: In Sweden, an Experiment Turns Shorter Workdays Into Bigger Gains
Stephan:   If you read SR regularly you know my conviction based on outcome data, not philosophy or ideology, that the function of the state should be to promote wellness. I believe this not only because I think it is the moral position but also because wellness policies are always cheaper, more efficient, more pleasant to live under, more productive, and more enduring. This is a story about what is possible, and what happens when wellness becomes the first priority.
Matthias Larsson said that working six-hour days leaves him more time with his children. Credit Magnus Laupa/The New York Times

Matthias Larsson said that working six-hour days leaves him more time with his children.
Credit Magnus Laupa/The New York Times

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN — Arturo Perez used to come home frazzled from his job as a caregiver at the Svartedalens nursing home. Eight-hour stretches of tending to residents with senility or Alzheimer’s would leave him sapped with little time to spend with his three children.

But life changed when Svartedalens was selected for a Swedish experiment about the future of work. In a bid to improve well-being, employees were switched to a six-hour workday last year with no pay cut. Within a week, Mr. Perez was brimming with energy, and residents said the standard of care was higher.

“What’s good is that we’re happy,” said Mr. Perez, a single father. “And a happy worker is a better worker.”

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