Why this Swedish company tells their workers to leave after 6 hours

Swedish companies want you to have a little more personal time.

If you want to work 6 hours a day, move to Sweden. Some companies believe that 8 hours at work every day is far too much.

Some companies in the Scandavian country have been experimenting with 6 hour work days. If you need help with the math, that’s two hours less than the average work day for the rest of us.

The main argument in favour of shorter business hours is to improve employees’ work-life balance. Toyota service centres in Gothenburg have used 6 hour workdays since 2002 and has seen a 25% increase in profits already. But the pros and cons are being debated and many wonder whether or not this really is a win-win arrangement.

But how on earth could companies benefit from having their employees work less?

Technically, a business should be losing money since they fork out the same salary even though employees are less at work. Also, if after 3pm an urgent task pops up and requires an employee’s immediate attention, how will it be completed if there’s no one around anymore?

Read: How to be happy when you work from home

But think about it: These scenarios already occur in 8 hour work days.  Because everyone is reachable 24/7 through the mobile phones and unlimited access to the internet, employees already find themselves working after hours anyway: replying to emails and group video chats can be done from anyway at any time.

But surely employees are able to get more done in 8 hours than 6 hours?

Nope, not necessarily. Studies done by CareerBuilder and The Atlantic have shown that workers tend to spread out the same amount of work (that they are able to complete in a shorter time span) to fill their 8 hours. We fill a lot of out hours at work doing personal things like online shopping, checking social media , personal phone calls, chatting to co-workers, etc. We aren’t really doing 8 hours of work, we’re just at the office for 8 hours.

The CEO of a Swedish app-development company already made the switch and says, "Some people would argue that it is a costly measure for the company, but that is based on a conventional conception that people are effective 100% of an eight-hour day." 

It turns out that at his company, employees are able to focus more intensely and maintain their stamina for the whole day. And when they leave they still have enough energy left to enjoy the rest of the day.

But does being at work only until 3pm actually benefit employees?

Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stats reveal that working shorter hours can and do increase overall productivity. Efficiency should be the biggest concern, not hours worked.

Read: Why work should start after 10am

Maria Bråth, CEO of Brath also encourages her workers to be more focussed in the 6 hours they are at work. An added benefit is the improvement of employee morale: workers are happier, healthier and are less likely to leave a company that compliments their lifestyle.

So, do you think spending no more than 6 hours a day at work would make you happier and more productive? Maybe what you really need is to consider working flexible hours.