Today, in addition to the 40-hour working weeks, we can even talk about 4-hour working days. The list of countries that have opted for reduced working days is growing year by year and has even created competition between countries, considering where the shortest are, what wages are available and what is the satisfaction of employees. The world is moving from public hospitals to reduced with private companies to make workers happier. However, there are many opposing views: are long-term or shorter guaranteeing employee productivity? Why could one company opt for a shorter if this in turn leads to new risks?
Sweden, close to us, shines at the top of the list of shorter working days, along with Germany and the Netherlands. The above has clearly decided to reduce the of workers so that in these countries we can only talk about less than 40 hours. At first glance, the question may arise as to how to fit the current work obligations, which are already in trouble during the standard hours.
What to think about before taking shorter working days in your company?
1. There are fewer hours to work, but how much of an employee is actually on the job for 8 hours or more? Take away from the workday every minute you have spent on a short or long break and those moments when you have not been focused on work.
2. A shorter working day also helps the employee to focus on life outside work – to be balanced and to deal with one’s health and hobbies. Such satisfaction also allows you to complete the necessary tasks in a shorter time on the next working day.
3. However, shorter working hours can increase an employee’s level of stress: there is a desire or need to take work home, so shorter working days do not justify themselves. However, the observation is pertinent: often an employee is used to taking work home even after the traditional 8-hour or even longer working day.
4. It is known that humans can be classified as owls, which are evening humans, and as larks, which are morning humans. As a result, people have different times when they are productive. Therefore, the employer should take into account that the productivity peak of some employees may start when the working day is about to end.
Working weeks longer than normal is a danger to workers’ health. As an employer, it is a good option to contribute to an employee’s health and, for example, to reimburse part of the cost of sports.
However, there is no shortage of admirers of longer and more intensive working days, even on the example of countries. Mexico and Costa Rica, for example, have some longer working weeks in the world. It is also not a big surprise that Estonia has been repeatedly placed in the forefront of the countries with the longest working days over the years.
Given that the happiness and satisfaction of workers is often associated with long working days and weeks of work, the people of Costa Rica are considered to be one of the happiest people in the world! But what to stop and think about during a long week of work: the risk of burnout.
In the category of the longest working weeks, more diligent working bees also win over working weeks of more than 50 hours, which is a clear danger to health in the long run – including heart work. At the same time, it is worth thinking about giving the employer overtime and thinking not only about today, but also about the future of the company and satisfied employees.
While in the case of a longer working day sometimes a feeling of guilt arises due to a slightly longer lunch break, in the case of a shorter the employee can plan his / her activities outside his / her work more skillfully and focus only on work during. In the role of both the employee and the employer, it is also worth considering whether the remuneration and benefits received by the company are balanced with intensive and long working hours.
After all, there are pros and cons to both extremely short and intensely long workdays. From the employer’s point of view, it is always possible to be flexible and, depending on the nature of the work, to combine, for example, the possibility of a home office and longer working days.
If being at work is one hundred percent unavoidable due to the nature of the work, then it is worth considering shorter working days.
The transition to shorter needs to get used to, but the transition does not have to be radical either – a rule can be made initially: for example, Mondays and Fridays are shorter. The main recommendation for the employer is to listen to their employees and act as a team.