Do you want to work a shorter work week but get paid full time? It might be possible. According to a survey by Tidningen Vision, HR managers in 14 percent of municipalities believe they can introduce a 30-hour week within five or ten years.
Working life is stressful and many people dream of more free time. 96 percent of Vision members responded to the survey saying they would like to work 30 hours but be paid full time.
But is cutting working hours too much for Swedish employers? No, there’s actually a bit of a tickling beat.
14 percent of HR managers in municipalities believe that a 30-hour work week with maintained salaries can be implemented within five or ten years. This is shown in a survey conducted by Tidiningen Vision.
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→Vision Leader: “The Curved Road Towards 30 Hours”
Joachim Danielsson, HR Manager Flen (Photo: Municipality of Flen)
“40 hours is not final”
One of those opening the door to the 30-hour week is Joachim Danielsen, HR manager for the municipality of Flen.
– I don’t think 40 hours a week is the ultimate way to get a municipality. I think sick leave and employee turnover speak for themselves. In this situation, we have to look at different solutions, says Joachim Danielsson.
The municipality of Flen has 1,800 employees, of whom about 150 are on sick leave every day. The situation is similar in other municipalities.
– If we reduce the working hours of particularly vulnerable professional groups, we can put people back to work. “I don’t know how to introduce a 30-hour week, but employers need to be brave enough to try new approaches, make mistakes and measure the consequences of what we try,” he says.
Short Work Week – Here’s how it works:
There are many opinions regarding shorter work weeks. The most common terms are:
- 6 hour work day
- Work four days a week
- 30 hour work week
Because the employer offers a shorter work week, you work shorter work days or work weeks, but receive the same salary as if you were working full-time.
Municipalities with 6-hour working day:
Trials with reduced working hours are underway across the country. Some of the municipalities testing the 30-hour week are Berg, Jonkoping and Kristinhamn.
What does the union think about short working hours?
Vision prefers to work a shorter work week with a maintained salary.
Good cooperation is required
But making the 30-hour week a reality requires a lot of analysis and good cooperation between employers and unions, says Joachim Danielsson.
– Let’s count together. I don’t close any doors.
But the majority of HR managers in the Vision newspaper, 86 percent, report dying of the 30-hour week. They justify it with a tongue-twisting 31-letter word: talent supply challenge.
There is a shortage of labor in the public sector and in a crisis like this, it is unfair to allow existing employees to work less, reasoned these HR managers. In addition, many believe that allowing employees to take off on time is too expensive.
Research shows that shorter work weeks are profitable
However, there is research that shows the opposite: reduced work hours are profitable. Last year saw one of the most extensive and publicized attempts at job cuts in the UK.
For six months, employees in 60 companies worked four days, and the researchers, who evaluated the results, say that they were positive: employees experienced less stress, the number of sick days decreased and the company’s revenue increased slightly. Most companies plan to continue with a four-day week.
Interest in reduced working hours has also gained momentum in other countries, and trials are underway or undertaken in countries such as Spain, Scotland and Iceland. Working hours for public servants in Iceland have been permanently reduced from 40 hours to 36 hours.
The union is pushing for a shorter work week
At the same time, Swedish unions have begun to question the 40-hour standard. Last year, the Vision union decided to work 30 hours a week with maintained pay.
Communal and DIK unions have also recently decided to fight for reduced hours.
Trials are underway in a short week
Silently, Vision’s local unions are lobbying for shorter working hours in a variety of ways. Now, the 30-hour week is being tested, among other places, in Berg, Jönköping and Kristinhamn, where there are specific groups of social workers.
In Älvkarleby municipality, Vision’s local board has recently submitted a negotiation plan to the employer.
Sandra Brandt, President Vision Allspin (Photo: Private)
– Many work groups have a difficult working environment. Recovery needs more time to cope, says Sandra Brandt, head of Älvkarleby’s Vision.
This is the second initiative by Vision Älvkarleby.
– The first time the boss said no. At that time, it was proposed that all employees would receive shorter working hours. So we in the group went back to our room and filed the words, says Sandra Brandt.
Investigates the cost
In the plan that Älvkarleby’s HR manager Johan Köhler now has on his desk, “short working hours” has been changed to “recovery time” (one hour/day) and Vision wants only professional teams in social work. is covered.
– The standard is not necessarily a 40-hour week. We as employers are now looking at what it costs and have asked Vision to select examples of how reducing working hours works in other municipalities, says Johan Köhler.
In the fall, unions and employers have another meeting.
– If not this time too, we start over. Shame on the surrenderer, says Sandra Brandt.
30 hours – that’s how the survey went
- Vision magazine sent out a survey to HR managers of municipalities in May 2023. 159 responded (55 percent response rate).
- At the same time, a survey was sent to Vision members, to which 1,670 responded (a 33 percent response rate).
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