sweden moves to 6-hour workday! :D

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(clicky)sweden moves to 6-hour workday
why can't we amuuricans be as humane as Sweden? other nations' daily work hours are going down, ours are going up. AFAIC something is wrong with this picture.

"While impressions of staff being happier and full of energy aren’t exactly scientific basis for declaring 6-hour work days as 'better' than the 8.7-hour work day endured by the average American, we do have evidence that what we’re doing right now isn’t working. A study published in The Lancet last month analysed data from 25 studies that monitored health of over 600,000 people from the US, Europe, and Australia for up to 8.5 years found that people who worked 55 hours a week had a 33 percent greater risk of having a stroke than people who worked a 35 - 40 hour week, and a 13 percent increased risk of developing coronary heart disease, while a separate study found that working 49-hour weeks was associated with lower mental health, particularly in women."

As long as the pay is enough to still live; it wouldn't work unless the minimum wage is high enough that 6 hours a day can still let you survive.

I once worked a job that demanded ten hours a day. I would say my mental health was certainly worse at that job.

a big reason my health is not all that it could be, was the 2+ decades of working 12-13 hour days on my feets all day long.

Be glad you didn't work under me or dad. The family mantra was work long and hard until you drop over dead, then get back up and start working all over again. (You wouldn't believe how hard a slavedriver I am.)

uncle sam was just as much a taskmaster, I found.

It needs to be up to the individual employer whether they can do that or not.
Where I work (for now) we get every other friday off.

This is one way.
The Netherlands are looking into a 4-day week (at 9 hours/day), for the same general reason, but stating that an extra full day is better for family time/mental health than a few hours on normal working days

In America we count on people dying early, not living a long life on Social Security and Medicare.

in amuurica the unfortunates [working poor/homeless] serve as a negative reinforcement style incentive for the middle class to keep its collective nose to the grindstone. that is a big hidden reason why such remains perennially chronic here in the land of the unfree/home of the wageslave.

Sweden is a country in utter decline and will see it's HDI fall between Malaysia and Libya in the next 30 years according to the UN. What they're doing it completely sustainable, you can't be a Nordic welfare state and let in a million refugees every year especially from the poorest most backward parts of the planet. Sweden is a small country that will not exist much longer with policies like that, it takes as many refugees as Germany almost and Germany is like 8x bigger, Sweden is committing national suicide.

I think its awesome! I wish they'd do that here in the USA. Less stress leads to better work.

I think moves like this are a sensible response to increasing automation.

I personally both like and need longer days. My work is seasonal, and if I don't make enough money during the growing season, I'm screwed.
So, how's that going to work out for Swedes who have a very harsh winter and work in outdoor trades?

seems like it might give those outdoor folk a bit of relief.

Irony? - I'm not getting it.
http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/SWE.pdf - Sweden's doing very well, HDI-wise.
It also demands very high taxes from their citizens, but in turn provides excellent socialized services such as healtchcare, childcare and free university education.

oh, I found it. you were right.
http://ww.rrojasdatabank.info/HDRP_2010_40.pdf

i can only assume that the 6 hour day is a measure to get more people into the workforce and off welfare. Refugees are the way to rejuvenate the aging workforce, same reason Germany is taking them in. Sounds like they read the study and decided to do something about it. Something smart. not like... building a wall.

I live in Sweden. Nobody's told Sweden about this. I don't know anyone doing it. My husband has a 9 hour working day (14 if you count his commute).