Saturday, April 12, 2014

Fact of the Day

The local government of Gothenburg, Sweden, is to begin a yearlong experiment to see if cutting the working week to 30 hours will be more efficient. It is hoped working less hours will cut down on sick leave, and save money. Under the plan, the employees will remain on the same pay.

The local car factory has already experimented with shorter working hours and the results showed an increase in productivity.

Currently, Belgium and the Netherlands enjoy a 30-hour working week, with an average worker in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, spending 35 hours a week at work. According to expert opinion, more than a quarter of reported sickness is due to work problems. Economists are sure that reduced working weeks will mean less illness among employees, which will lead to more productivity. Reducing the working week will also decrease road traffic in densely populated cities, and help authorities alleviate the strain and cost of running transport hubs, rail networks and roads.

From here 

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