Sweden introduces six-hour workday

UK office workers are notorious for working long hours, despite numerous studies that have reported serious health side effects of working 50 hours or more. With its citizens’ health at risk, Sweden is one of the first countries to start implementing a six-hour workday.

Businesses across the country have already moved to shorter days, with a retirement home conducting a year-long experiment to compare costs and benefits, according to science news site Science Alert.

Stockholm-based app developer Filimundus made the switch last year in order to give its employees more time to learn, spend time with their families and exercise. The CEO says staff are asked to stay away from social media while at work in order to make up for the loss of time and meetings are kept short, allowing employees to focus “more intensely” on their tasks.

While the results haven’t been analysed scientifically, a study published last month shows that those who work 55 hours a week are at greater risk of stroke than those who only work 35-40 hours. Meanwhile, an expert from the University of Oxford says the typical 9am-5pm schedule is at odds with the human body clock.

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