Is a 4 day work week possible? The Finnish PM certainly thinks so

Sanna Marin, who is the world’s youngest Prime Minister at the age of 34, had previously proposed putting the entire country of Finland on a four-day work-week consisting of six-hour workdays in a bid to transition the country to what she called “the next step for us in working life.”

“I believe people deserve to spend more time with their families, loved ones, hobbies and other aspects of life, such as culture. This could be the next step for us in working life,” Marin said in August 2019 while she was still the minister of transport.

Besides a four-day workweek, working five-hour days over a five-day week is also gaining momentum. Finland, as a country, is always known for creating a favourable work schedule for its people. In 1996, the government introduced a law that gave employees the right to shift their hours up to three hours earlier or later than their employers’ typical requirements. Before the Finnish leader put forth the idea of four-working days, neighbouring countries France and Sweden have already tried and tested the advocacy and as proved to be beneficial for both.

The notion of a reduced workweek has gained support from the corporate world, as well. In November 2019, Microsoft Japan revealed that a trial four-day workweek had boosted productivity by 40%. In 2018, a New Zealand firm dubbed its two-month trial of a four-day workweek a success in improving work-life balance.

Contradictions

Contradicting to the aims and trials of the countries, there are two CEO’s who have highlighted the need for a five-day working period for own benefits.

Stephan Aarstol, founder and CEO of Tower Paddle Boards — a California-based start-up backed by billionaire investor Mark Cuban — began trialling a five-hour day across the company in June 2015.

Aarstol told CNBC in a phone interview that he wanted to attract people to the company who could work three times faster than others — but he noted the five-hour day “can certainly attract the wrong people.”

Aarstol said cutting the workday also led to an even bigger problem — he was losing workers, despite their earning high salaries and working fewer hours. “I had a team of nine, and I lost four people within 90 days,” he said. “One of them I fired, but the other three left. So I had all these great people that had five-hour workdays, and they were leaving the company.”

He even bought in a modified working policy in 2017, with Tower Paddle Boards now offering the five-hour day to employees for four months over the summer.

“Now I feel we’re getting the bulk of the benefits,” he said. “We’re getting that start-up culture in the offseason, and we’re getting the benefits of squeezing people for the time in the summer and all the productivity gains we realized there.”

Rheingans Digital Enabler

Lasse Rheingans, CEO of Rheingans Digital Enabler — a marketing agency based in the German city of Bielefeld — encountered similar issues when he cut working hours in 2017. After introducing the policy, two of his employees left the company.

However, Steve Glaveski, CEO of Australian consulting firm Collective Campus, argued low retention rates were usually a sign of workers being a bad fit with a company. Collective Campus rolled out a five-hour day in October 2018, which has since evolved into an “ad hoc” approach that allows employees to be flexible with the length of their workday.

Redefining Work

Both Aarstol and Rheingans, despite facing retention challenges, were advocates of the five-hour day and told CNBC they believed the traditional eight-hour workday would eventually become a thing of the past.

“I think the shorter day will catch on everywhere 20 years from now,” Aarstol said. “There will be different ways of doing it; there’s going to be a bunch of experiments. It’s just part of the advance of society.”

“Every job is undergoing drastic changes because of automation and technology,” Rheingans added.

 Conclusion

It is often said, that every individual thinks differently, and in terms of working policies, we sure have separate mind-sets. It shall be interesting to see what shapes the future of redefining work-life.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET Edge Insights, its management, or its members

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