Photographed By Ingalls Photo.Time and again, Sweden has delivered some of the most wonderful contributions to Western society. ABBA, Alexander Skarsgård, Swedish Fish, IKEA — the Scandinavian nation has basically been hashtag-killing it for decades. But, the latest news out of that magical country blows pretty much all of its other genius ideas out of the water: Swedes are trying out a six-hour workday.
Officials in Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city, announced an experiment this week to determine the value of switching the city's government employees to a six-hour day. Municipal staff will be split into two groups: Half will be designated a 30-hour workweek, while the rest of the poor saps will undoubtedly be muttering bitterly under their breath as they chug away at the normal eight-hour schedule. Both groups will receive the same pay. After a year, the city will assess the emotional and physical health benefits of the new schedule, as reported by its staff, and weigh them with the potential costs of taking the plunge for good.
Gothenburg's experiment isn't the first time Sweden has toyed with a six-hour workday. The town of Kiruna tried it out for 16 years, ultimately deciding it wasn't financially viable. Similar experiments have also been attempted in Finland, with positive results.
Of course, while the public sector is one thing, it's hard to imagine this happening in the rest of the workforce, especially in the service and retail industries. And, it's even harder to picture this achieving the same success Stateside as "Dancing Queen" did — after all, we're a culture that tends to value hard work over personal wellness. Still, we can dream, right?
(Bustle)