We’ve all been there.
You arrive at work and you’re immediately overwhelmed by the shear number of tasks to complete, but as the day winds down, so does your concentration and by 3pm, you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through your social media pages or deep into a conversation with a co-worker about your neighbours cat.
To combat that, several Swedish companies have permanently implemented or are currently trialing, the six-hour workday concept.
The goal of the model is to strike a better work-life balance and to thus increase quality of life.
There exists a list of reasons why more and more companies are giving the initiative the time of day.
A Toyota service center in Sweden, cut its mechanics’ working day more than 10 years ago and since the company reported a profit-increase, they haven’t looked back.
Although not everyone is in support of the model, there have been undeniable positive results.
Companies have reported less sick days being taken, a lower turnover rate, less stressed employees, plus an increase in productivity and overall happiness.
The reality is that most people don’t have the ability to stay focused for eight hours a day, which fills each day with two hours of unproductive labour anyway, says sociologist Roland Paulsen of Lund University.
Companies that have implemented the concept, encourage employees to avoid spending time on social media, checking personal e-mails or making personal phone calls.
The model will also give us the opportunity to reclaim our lost human connections.
Times have changed and in most households today, both adults work full time – leaving schools and aftercare centres to raise children.
A six-hour work day will enable a parent to fetch their child earlier, personally sit and do homework with them; and simply spend more valuable time with them.
That will also make way for a healthier lifestyle, such as by preparing more home-cooked meals and spending more time outdoors, or on hobbies that make us happy.
In South African, an increasing number of companies now have gyms and child care facilities on the premises, because they recognise the link between health and profitability.
Policy makers across the world are keeping a close eye on the initiative funded by the Swedish government; and so they should, because most of us spend the majority of our days at work.
In the winter we leave home while it’s still dark; and we return in darkness.
That isn’t living.
It’s surviving and there’s a difference.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but I’m definitely crossing my fingers that this wonderful initiative trickles down to the ‘Third World’ one day.
