Business has changed drastically over the last few decades, whether through the rise of new technologies and flexible working, or the importance of intangibles and the growth of new markets. But that's not all; recent trends suggest that the next part of office life to get a makeover might be the working day itself. Sweden is coming close to the end of a year's experiment with a six-hour working day, which supporters say increases productivity and efficiency.
For fast-growing companies competing in a volatile market with a small headcount, every employee needs to be as productive as possible – so could we all benefit from going Scandinavian?
Shorter hours and greater productivity
In 2015, the five most productive countries (by hours worked) were Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, France and Germany, according to OECD statistics. Almost all of these countries have one noticeable thing in common as well as their productivity: their working day’s shorter than the OECD average. The exception is Luxembourg, which has a working day more or less equal in length to the average. Dutch employees work only around 28.9 hours a week – the lowest in the world. The two least productive countries, Mexico and South Africa, work almost fifteen hours more, at an average of 44.7 and 43.3 hours respectively.
Prioritising employee happiness
So could there be something in the shorter hours model? Research suggests there might be – and Regus studies show in addition that happier employees are on average more productive than their unhappy colleagues.
This could mean that abandoning the traditional nine-to-five in favour of flexible working patterns might in fact drive results from a more satisfied – and consequently more efficient – workforce.
Focusing on results
This would require a change in mindset. Swedish app developer Filimundus introduced a six-hour working day, but at the same time cut out distractions, such as unneeded meetings, to give its employees as much of the working day as possible to spend on what they need to be doing.
Not only that, but managers can encourage switching away from a culture of presenteeism – where being visibly at work, at your desk, for the longest time is a marker of productivity. Rather, they can prioritise the results and tasks accomplished. This means that people know they're being measured on what they're seen delivering rather than seen doing – encouraging faster and more efficient working.
Productivity per hour: should we shorten the working day?
