In 2015, the Swedish city of Gothenburg carried out a pioneering study to verify the effects of reducing working hours, while maintaining wages, on workers. After two years of ‘experiment’, the nurses in a nursing home were more productive, took less sick leave and declared themselves much more satisfied with their work.
The reduction in working hours triggered costs in companies, a reason why this measure did not end up being generalized. However, the Swedish essay opened an old debate: should we work less to not only be happier, but also have more time to take care of our families and get involved with our community? Is a reduction in working hours feasible for companies and / or the State without this implying a drop in wages?
These are very pertinent questions in the context of an increasingly aging Europe, in which many countries like ours are progressively increasing their retirement ages. How does the hectic pace of work affect older people?
At the other end of the planet they are also worrying about this issue, and an Australian university published in 2016 a report with the preliminary results of a study in which it shows that people over 40 years are more productive when they work, at most. three days a week.
According to the results, the effects of the length of the working day on the cognitive performance of the participants were not linear: increasing the working hours to 25 per week produced an improvement in cognitive abilities. I mean, working is good for the mind … up to a point. Days greater than 25 hours a week had a negative impact. Furthermore, these results were identical for both men and women.
For the authors of the study, these data demonstrate how we must take with caution the idea that delaying the retirement age could help prevent the deterioration of our cognitive abilities, thanks to the intellectual stimulation that work produces. According to their results, this idea would not be entirely wrong, but to obtain these beneficial effects on the brain, working hours should be reduced.
The results obtained make a lot of sense: it is known that one of the risk factors that can accelerate cognitive decline and cause mental illness is chronic stress, a problem that goes hand in hand with long working hours.
More hours does not equal more productivity
Although we are used to marathon workdays and not disconnecting from our obligations during rest periods, there is increasing evidence that less can be more. For example, the Draugiem Group company carried out a study that used the data obtained by its DeskTime application to see what the habits of its most productive workers were.
The results revealed that many of his highest performing employees weren’t exactly the ones who worked the most overtime, but were religiously fulfilling their eight hours of work. In addition, these employees were used to taking regular breaks throughout the day , specifically 17 minutes for every 52 of work. A fact that indicates, once again, that ‘heating the chair’ does not mean producing more, and that an adequate balance that allows reconciling work with family obligations and moments of rest is good for everyone, both employers and workers.
Referencia: Kajitani et al. 2016. Use It Too Much and Lose It? The Effect of Working Hours on Cognitive Ability. Melbourne Institute Working Paper No. 7/16.
