It is being tried out in Sweden
six hour day

There are claims of reduced stress, improved efficiency and even higher profits (despite paying staff the same for a shorter working day).

6 hours?

I can barely manage 2. Now, if you’ll excuse me, cash in the attic is about to start.

At the moment anything sub 12 would be welcome.

Might be a good idea but for any 24 hour operation you would need to add another shift in to cover the 6 hours lost over the 3 shifts. That’s going to be expensive.

I would far rather 7.5 hours x 4 days than 6 hours x 5 days

In fact it’s my current work schedule 🙂

Yes, of course 6 hr is good provided you do not skive off …

My view is there must be certain level of technology involvement to maintain productivity (not taking about service industry) but if competitors do not play game then higher cost might not equate higher profit in the long run. Short term yes because your product (assuming products and not services) might be unique but once they catch up with you then you are screwed.

Anyway, do you really need 6 hr working in general administrative environment? I would say less than 6 hr is more than sufficient.

😛

^^ as above

happy with 3x14hrs at the moment, would hate to be there 5/6 days a week for short shifts

you know who will like that though? them members of staff that think the place cannot run without them

Official working hours, as in time-spent-physically-in-the-office, are really an irrelevance anyway nowadays, aren’t they? Seeing as its generally now perceived you should be available via phone and email 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

ebygomm – Member

I would far rather 7.5 hours x 4 days than 6 hours x 5 days

This would be great. I’d rather do 4 longer days all week & then have a 3 day weekend.

At Svartedalens, the trial is viewed as a success, even if, with an extra 14 members of staff hired to cope with the shorter hours and new shift patterns, it is costing the council money.

On the one hand it’s a great idea since it increases well being and gets more people working. In practice aren’t we living in a world where the goal is to get as much productivity with as little cost as possible? Nice idea but with business owners worried about increases in minimum wage, this initiative – which is a significant increase in the wage bill – is not going to receive wide support in the UK.

On the other hand I think there are plenty of people who, if push came to shove, could be more productive and do the same job in fewer hours.

I’m a bin lorry driver started at 07:30 finished at 13:00 today , I used to drive arctics 12 to 15 hour days (and nights) happy to be doing six now , much healthier and less stressful, we have a set amount of work and when it’s done we go home , best way to work.

One thing I suppose is, shorter working hours = more people needed to do the same job = more jobs.

Personally I’d rather have ten-hour days and a three day weekend I think.

Depends how productive it is. Some take 8 hours to do what others do in 2. I support lower hours, but not the inefficent

No. 4×8 suits me just fine thanks.

I work (remotely) with a Swedish team based in Gothenburg and we’ve been working double that for large portions of this year.

we have a set amount of work and when it’s done we go home , best way to work.

So how many hours do you get paid for and if you don’t get the work done in 8 hours do you keep working until the jobs done?

Would love it. However, knowing our management, it would end up creating more work as they tried to micro-manage everything between a larger workforce.

if push came to shove, could be more productive and do the same job in fewer hours.

Perhaps, but who wants to be shoved?

Is the aim of the game to maximise profit, or produce a happy country? (Am I on the wrong thread here?)

If a working day was shorter, a lot of people would spend less time slacking and simply work quicker, imo. Of course this doesn’t apply to all workers, but I bet it does to lots.

I think a lot of employers would get much more productive employees if they banned stw from the in work internet. Get back to work you lot. 😀

I get paid a set wage regardless of hours , so yes we keep going till its done , in practice that is usually a 13:30 Finnish , but it has been as early as 11:30 or as late as 16:30 but very rarely .

I get paid a set wage regardless of hours , so yes we keep going till its done , in practice that is usually a 13:30 Finnish

So in reality whoever you work for runs a very inefficient business, either they could be paying you less hours or have less people doing the job in the same number of hours.

WoW! A third of a normal shift. That would be AWESOME!

Amazed that task and finish has survived austerity cuts in local councils tbh, paying people for 37 hours work when they rarely average more than 28.

Yes very ineffeciant , that’s you local council for you

tbf 7 hours per day is hardly a chore. I doubt i’d feel any more relaxed if i got home one hour early. It would just mean id be busier in the 6 hours that i would be in 7.

Flex working is the way forward, in my job i work to deliver something, if it takes 40 hrs per week then so be it, sometimes i’ll have to bust my nut for longer, occasionally i’ll finish at 4 every day.

To answer directly , I don’t think that we should prescribe any particular length of working day (other than safety limits like taco rules ) best to let enployess and employers sort it out for themselves, mainly because it just wouldn’t work for many jobs , no way I could anything useful done in six hours driving for irlams , but now I can get it all done.
Do I think it’s good to work a shorter day , for me yes definitely , more time for family more time for fun less stressful.

Can’t see it working in general in the UK.

If it costs more money most companies/government bodies won’t entertain it, even if people are more productive/efficient.

Many companies I’ve worked for think working really long hours is a good thing (despite it being counter-productive)
In general we are so far behind Scandinavian countries in how we treat employees and how forward thinking we are.

Personally I think it’s a good thing as I know being properly productive for more than 6 hours is difficult. I think people who appreciate this are in a real minority but the world is full of stupid people who ignore evidence.
</mini rant>

I could do my job in a 6 hour day (vs current nominal 7.5), so I’d just waste less time on the web at work and spend more time on the web at home….

4 hour days are hard enough if I want to make the pub at lunchtime

One thing I suppose is, shorter working hours = more people needed to do the same job = more jobs.

Only in certain industries and in others with certain people. I know a day have worked in plenty of places where the 40 hours of attendance could be condensed and via updated working practices and some more focus the same could be delivered in 30hrs. But then doing the same you could do more in the 40.

More free time just means more evenings to get into trouble and spend my money.

Give me 70 hour working weeks and pay me by the hour – and 10 weeks off a year to blow it on travelling.

In fact, why the **** didn’t I become an oil rig geologist – 4 weeks on 4 weeks off sounds like bliss. I did a freaking A-level in geology as well.

In fact, why the **** didn’t I become an oil rig geologist – 4 weeks on 4 weeks off sounds like bliss. I did a freaking A-level in geology as well.

Because with the oil price where it is and heading south you’d probably be unemployed right now?

I work a 6.5hr day, but am paid for a 5 hour day (due to being paid for some lengthy holidays). In reality I’m in work at 7.30am and leave at 6pm. Then do more work when I get home, it’s not far off a “while my eyes are open I’m working” job (during the week anyway).

The bikes are gathering dust! World’s smallest violin needed for the teacher!

works for me

I usually work 10. Sometimes more sometimes less. If the requirement was 30 hours a week I’d much rather do less days and longer hours. On occasion I have used excess holiday to work 4 days a week and that makes a huge difference, hetting home every day is great if you have kids or live somewhere where you can easily do leisure activities in the evening but a 3 day weekend allows you to do a lot more IMO

Depending on the kind of work, a flexible “working” day is all that’s required. i.e. take as long or little as required to do a day’s worth of work.

Work from home and spread it out over the day. Do some work, go shopping, ride bikes, do more work. If the work is seen to be done, then who cares really except stuffy office managers who need to feel they are in power and want to see a desk occupied all day even if that person is not being productive.

Sounds enticing but nothing like the life I lead.

To put it into context. If you were born today and lived to an average of 82 years old in the UK, went to university before entering employment and retired at 68, doing 5 day weeks of 6 hours a day you would be at work for around 7% of your life. 7% to pay for the other 93% – can that ever be realistic?

7% to pay for the other 93% – can that ever be realistic?

Why not? If what you do is replaced by a robot, then you can just stay home and watch TV. Then the “paying for” issue becomes some sort of moral question, not an economic one.

This debate does sort of expose the capitalism is a force for good con as we can achieve greater efficiencies with fewer cheaper working hours what are we supposed to do with all the excess humans we keep producing?

expose the capitalism is a force for good

Did you really think it was ever anything other than a force for greed?