An eight-hour working day remains or will be a six-hour day. Workers' Party of Russia
Henry Ford was the first to introduce an eight-hour working day in his factories. Much time has passed since then, but the length of the working day has changed little. Americans now work a little longer – 8.7 hours. On the other hand, more time is now spent on meetings, emails and Facebook than actually working. It is not surprising that more and more people are thinking about how much time it is more appropriate to spend at work.
In Sweden, the answer to this question has already been found. More and more Swedish businesses and companies are switching to a six-hour working day.
“I think an eight-hour workday is not as effective as everyone thinks,” says Linus Feldt, director of Stockholm-based app development company Filimundus. “It’s extremely difficult to stay focused on a specific task for eight hours. In order to cope with this and reduce stress, we insert pauses and other things into the working day. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to control personal life after work. We want to spend more time with our families, we want to learn more, we want to play more sports. I am a proponent of mixing all these aspirations and tasks.”
Filimundus switched to a six-hour workday last year. Shortening the long day did not greatly affect the work process itself. Management simply asked employees not to be distracted by social networks and personal matters and canceled a number of mandatory meetings and events.
Tech startup Brath switched to a six-hour workday three years ago and is happy with it so far. The company is pleased that it has now become easier to hire and retain employees.
Similar changes in working hours occur not only in the private but also in the public sector. Recently, for example, an experiment was conducted - nurses in a state nursing home were transferred to a six-hour working day for the same pay. It cost more money, but the cost was recouped by improving the quality of care for elderly clients because the care staff was less tired.
In the 1990s, several Swedish nursing homes had already switched to a six-hour working day, but were forced to return to normal operating hours due to costs.
As for Filimundus, this company does not see any shortcomings in the innovation, because labor productivity has increased and the amount of work done in 6 hours remains the same as before, with an eight-hour day.
According to Linus Feldt, the workers suddenly seemed to have a second wind and began to work more energetically. The director considers this, as well as a high emotional state, to be the main reasons for the successful development of the company.
“It seems to me that today we value time more than money,” he shares his thoughts. “I am absolutely sure that more and more people will choose more free time rather than a high salary. The move from an eight- to a six-hour workday shows that we are investing in our employees. We believe that satisfied and happy employees are the main asset of any successful company. If your staff is happy, the whole company is happy.”
Little has changed since Henry Ford experimentally introduced the eight-hour workday in his factories. Now people work a little longer - an average of 8.7 hours. Although more time is spent on email, meetings and Facebook than on our direct responsibilities. Maybe it's time to think about how many hours we spend in the office?
The six-hour workday is becoming increasingly popular in Sweden.
“I think the eight-hour workday is not as efficient as people think,” says Linus Feldt, head of Stockholm-based app developer Filimundus. - Maintaining concentration on certain work tasks for eight hours is very difficult... To survive such a working day, we already take breaks and are distracted. And yet, after work there is still little time left for personal life.
Filimundus switched to a six-hour work week last year, and people have continued to cope with their work responsibilities since then. Employees were simply advised to spend less time on social media and personal communication, and some weekly meetings were also cancelled.
“I feel like it's easier to focus on important work and still have enough energy at the end of the day,” Feldt says.
This company is not alone. Brath, another tech startup, adopted the same regime three years ago. For them, the main advantage was that it helps recruit and retain employees, the head of the company writes in a blog:
“Once you get used to spending time with your family, exercising, or just cooking at home, you won't want to lose those privileges again. We believe this is a worthy reason to stay with our company."
The same thing happens in the public sector. Recently, an experiment was conducted in which nurses in a state nursing home were offered to switch to a six-hour working day while maintaining the same salary. Of course, more money was spent. But these costs were offset by better patient care, since the nurses were not so tired.
The nursing home experiment is temporary and the new regime may yet be abandoned. In the 1990s, a six-hour working day was already introduced in some nursing homes and kindergartens, but then it was decided to return to the previous regime in order to save money. However, in private companies the transition can happen faster.
“The most important and unexpected reaction was the level of energy I saw in my colleagues,” Feldt says. “Working groups began to perform their responsibilities better, as there were fewer disputes and conflicts.”
“I think today we value time more than money,” he says. “I am absolutely sure that more and more people will choose free time over a higher salary.”
The main priority for a successful company should be happy employees, says the head of a Swedish startup. If the employees are happy, the company will be happy.
The idea of reducing the working day to 6 hours has been discussed in the world community for a long time, but the only country where it is being implemented in practice is Sweden. There it is implemented mainly by commercial organizations for office workers. All managers of such enterprises note an increase in labor productivity and employee loyalty to the company. One Swedish state nursing home even took part in the experiment. “It turned out that their work cost management more, but at the same time, patient care improved - since the nurses were less tired.” It is worth noting that the experiment with reducing the working hours of nursing home staff is called temporary and can be completed at any time. It is very clear that the main goal of these actions in Sweden is to increase labor productivity - actions exclusively in the interests of the bourgeoisie.
At the same time, in another part of Europe - in France - we see reactionary attempts by the pseudo-socialist government to abolish the 35-hour work week. Such actions cause fierce resistance from workers. Protests have been going on for several months.
History of the issue of reducing the working day in Russia.
Let us briefly touch on the history of the issue of reducing the working day in Russia. One of the first demands of the labor movement in Russia was to limit the length of the working day, which was not limited by any laws until the end of the 19th century. The workers' struggle to shorten the working day achieved success only in 1897. The working day was limited by law to 11.5 hours (10 hours on Saturday), and for women and children - 10 hours with six working days a week. Vacation was not provided. There was no restriction on overtime work.
The Great October Socialist Revolution brought about an eight-hour working day with a six-day working week in Russia. Later in the USSR, the length of the working day was reduced to 7 hours, but with a 6-day working week. Then, due to the outbreak of World War II, a 48-hour work week was introduced with an 8-hour work day. In the late 1960s, the working day was set at 8 hours, which remains the same today with a 40-hour work week.
No matter how normal this may seem today, it is important to understand that the 8-hour working day is the result of the hard and persistent struggle of the working class of Russia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
Today in Russia.
Mikhail Prokhorov has already encroached on the 8-hour working day as a conquest of the working class. In April 2010, expressing the cherished dream of our entire underdeveloped bourgeoisie, he proposed changing labor legislation and introducing a 60-hour work week instead of a 40-hour one. It hasn’t come out yet, but this statement hasn’t caused mass protests either.
Two years before this reactionary speech by Prokhorov, on May 15, 2008, at the II Congress of the Federation of Trade Unions of Russia, the Program “Tasks of Collective Action” was adopted, in which the reduction of working hours while maintaining wages is one of the main points. It sounds like this: “increasing the free time of workers by reducing the working day to 6 hours and introducing a 30-hour work week without reducing earnings, as well as by increasing the time of paid vacations.”
The recognition and implementation of actions aimed at implementing the provisions of the Collective Action Objectives Program by various public organizations clearly show on whose side and in the interests of which class they are acting.
Political economy of the issue.
Material production plays a decisive role in the life of society and is its basis. The method of material production determines the socio-economic formation in which we live. In material production, labor productivity is of great importance, which is growing especially rapidly in countries that are leaders in scientific and technological progress (STP). This, however, does not mean that labor productivity is not growing in other countries - this is a general trend for all capitalist countries. The only difference is in the rate of its growth.
“The level of social productivity of labor is not constant, therefore, with an increase in productivity per unit of time, less working time is required to satisfy a fixed social need. As a result, there is a tendency to reduce the total working time in material production, which makes it possible to free up time for non-productive activities that satisfy the intellectual, aesthetic and other needs of society.”
It is worth noting that it is not the growth in the number of small and medium-sized businesses that leads to an increase in social labor productivity, but the development of knowledge-intensive branches of large-scale industry. This is what inevitably leads to the release of labor with a simultaneous increase in its productivity.
The process of increasing social productivity leads to two opposite aspects: a reduction in working hours and a reduction in employment (job cuts). The first action leads to a reduction in the working hours of employees without reducing employment. The second is to reduce employment without reducing working hours remaining employed (increasing the reserve army of labor). These opposing aspects lead to a contradiction in the interests of the owners of the means of production and the working class as the owner of labor power.
“As labor productivity increases, the absolute number of workers in industrialized countries decreases along with a reduction in the time of total production. Chronic unemployment in these countries covers about 30-40 million people.”
It would seem that the bourgeoisie would benefit from resolving this contradiction only in its favor (reducing employment without reducing working time), but in the long term, reducing working time in general and the working day in particular leads to an increase in labor productivity. A reduction in working time, being one of the consequences of an increase in labor productivity, itself leads (becomes one of the reasons) to an increase in labor productivity.
In addition to the growth in labor productivity, “the time released from material production is largely used for the development of education, science, medical services, information services for the progress of society, management, etc.” . We see that the problem is not the lack of social labor that can be released, but that its release should be in the interests of the whole society, and not just a narrow and small part of it.
Thus, the struggle of workers to reduce the working day while maintaining wages is a process aimed at developing social material production, and therefore bringing closer the transition to the next socio-economic formation - communist.
"Ideas become power..."
The demand to reduce the working day to 6 hours while maintaining wages is an economic and political demand. Reducing the working day to 6 hours will ensure the progress of Russian production based on increased labor productivity, improved working conditions, improved health of workers, increased free time, time for family life and raising children, as well as an increase in their trade union and political activity and organization.
The idea of reducing the working day to 6 hours while maintaining wages is quite feasible even at the level of development of industrial production at which modern Russia is located. Despite the resistance of short-sighted representatives of the bourgeoisie, the working people of Russia are quite capable of such a task, but achieving its implementation is possible only through consistent collective action.
Alexey Kuzmin, member of the Workers' Party of Russia
First of all, workers engaged in productive labor.
The experiment to introduce a 6-hour working day in Sweden has reached a dead end. Staff at a nursing home in Gothenburg who were lucky enough to participate in the experiment for two years were upset. And while local politicians say the reduction in work hours has been too costly, many workers have seen improved health, fewer sick days, and improved patient care.
The director of this social institution, with whom we met at the height of the experiment, also believes that the benefits of a six-hour working day are greater than the harm:
“The situation has become calmer. Among the patients there are many people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Previously, workers experienced constant stress, which affected communication with family at home. And today we can hire more employees and create new jobs. In addition, people take less sick leave.”
Too expensive for the city hall of Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city, where absenteeism due to illness and depression is the highest in the country. The experiment, begun under the previous left-wing municipality, did not convince the new right-wing city authorities. Here's what the deputy mayor of Gothenburg said back in June:
“We are responsible for 53,000 employees in Gothenburg. So if 53 thousand people work six hours and receive wages for an 8-hour day, then do the math yourself.
We will need more hands, more staff, and we will even have to work longer.”
Despite the setback, the head of the department of social protection and representative of the left in the mayor's office, Daniel Bernard, is confident that the benefits of a six-hour working day will make themselves felt, although not immediately:
“Look ahead a little! Taking the public sector of the economy as a whole, we create more jobs, we reduce sick pay costs and we improve the quality of services. It seems natural to me to take steps aimed at improving the work environment, making it possible to create a sustainable labor market, where people work in better conditions compared to how they work now.”
However, reducing working hours can also be profitable in the shorter term. This was also proven by the Toyota automobile plant located in Gothenburg, which 15 years ago introduced a shortened working day for employees working in the most critical areas. And what’s surprising is that no one has complained yet!!!
About the fact that more and more Swedish companies are introducing a six-hour working day for their employees. At the same time, it was argued that the management of the companies, and the employees themselves, do not observe a decrease in work efficiency. In some cases (although in which ones it was not specified) the effectiveness even increased. In other words, the point was that employees of companies where a 6-hour working day was introduced manage to do as much as employees of other companies in a full 8-hour day.
“I think the 8-hour workday is not as efficient as many people think,” said Linus Feldt, CEO of mobile app company Filimundus. – Focusing on work for eight hours is extremely difficult. I have to intersperse my work with something for variety. It becomes difficult to deal with personal life and spend time with family.” But, it seems, everything turned out to be not so rosy, since now all the same Swedish companies are gradually abolishing the six-hour workday, reintroducing the usual and familiar to many eight-hour working day.
Yes, they would also like to work 6 hours a day... but it didn’t work out
Interestingly, many proponents of the six-hour workday have previously argued that the idea that a person can work effectively for eight hours is false. But with a six-hour working day, people feel a surge of enthusiasm and give 150%, while employees of “six-hour” companies have less conflict with each other and feel more satisfied with life. Studies conducted by researchers from OECD countries have shown that people who work more than 50 hours a week have higher rates of illness than people who work regular or reduced hours. After analyzing data from 600,000 respondents, the risk of coronary heart disease among workaholics increased by about 13%, and the risk of stroke by 33%. In women, a large amount of work leads to depression (in men too, but in women, depression occurs more often in this case).
However, even with a shortened working day, not everything is as rosy as it seemed. For example, in one of the state-owned companies, which for two years conducted an experiment with changing the length of the working day, they say that a six-hour schedule is too expensive. We are talking about an elderly care clinic in Gothenburg. This state-owned company introduced a six-hour workday, believing that it made staff feel more positive and look after their employees more effectively. A few months after the introduction of the new regime, the organization’s management stated that the quality of services had indeed improved, since employees were not so tired and were more enthusiastic.
The city administration said there are no plans to scale up the clinic's experience. Moreover, there is a high probability that employees will soon switch to a regular eight-hour day. The problem is that during the experiment it was necessary to significantly increase the cost of operating personnel. In order to compensate for the decrease in work hours of 68 employees, the organization had to hire 17 more people, which cost the city budget an additional $1.3 million.
“All of this comes with high costs. It's too expensive for other organizations to cut hours in the foreseeable future,” said Daniel Bernmar, a local official in charge of care for the city's elderly residents.
Not just money
A report from the hospital's management in Gothenburg shows that the problems are not only about additional financial costs and hiring additional staff. The same elderly care clinic saw its employee sickness rate increase from 8% to 9.3%. The hospital's medical staff were not too pleased with the changes. Thus, only 20% of employees showed satisfaction that their working hours were reduced. In another company in the same city, employees began to ask for vacation or time off about three times more often, and sick leave began to happen twice as often.Why? The fact is that the working day was reduced, but the amount of work was not. Employees have to do the same work in a shorter time frame, which leads to too much workload, stress and, consequently, illness and dissatisfaction with life.
The experiment in Gothenburg is the latest in a series of similar ones. The Swedes' experiment was closely followed by experts and journalists from all over the world. The results of this experiment could change a lot, because if labor efficiency increased without additional costs, then officials in other European countries and the United States would undoubtedly begin to implement similar plans.
Some Swedish politicians are confident that a system with a 6-hour working day will be useful to the state, but for municipalities this is an additional burden on the budget when it comes to introducing a new work regime in state-owned companies. With the widespread implementation of the new experience, representatives of the Swedish Left Party say, reducing the working day will cost taxpayers an impressive amount each year.
What about other countries?
In France, they are also discussing the possibility of reducing the working day. Politicians, trying to keep up with the times, are promising to end the 35-hour work week. According to François Fillon, a representative of the Conservative party, the old work regime "caused a lot of harm." For now, promises remain promises.In Switzerland, at one time they discussed the possibility of reducing the working day, but nothing came of it. True, the inhabitants of this country are famous for their efficiency and reluctance to spend time without a goal. They even refused to conduct an experiment with an unconditional income, while residents of other countries happily agreed to this. During the referendum, 81% of voters opposed the introduction of the new practice.
In Switzerland, however, the level of wages is quite high, so that people do not have to work full time, but receive a decent wage (allowing them to live normally) for working part-time or three-quarters of the time. If there are two people working in a family, then half the salary for each person in most cases is enough to not need anything.
Interestingly, experts from the United States believe that robots will soon be able to replace those employees who earn less than $20 per hour (we are talking about routine work performing relatively simple operations). In this case, human employees may be moved to a six-hour workday for the simple reason that their services will no longer be required to the same extent. Some experts believe that there may be a positive aspect to this - for example, employees who will be replaced by robots will study more in order to get a more attractive job with high pay.
Let's go back to Sweden
In Sweden, working hours are gradually decreasing, as shown by statistics over the last hundred years. But so far the government has no plans to impose a six-hour workday for employees of public and private companies at the national level. By the way, the increase in costs that the management of the elderly care clinic is talking about is only one side of the coin. The second side is the increase in the number of jobs over the past 18 months.According to experts from Sweden, shortening the working day is, in general, a positive idea that will have a positive impact on the country's economy and the fate of many people. In particular, a six-hour working day will allow people who are employed in labor-intensive professions to remain active longer, continuing to work into adulthood. It is possible that some companies will support short-time work not in order to gain an increase in labor productivity, but in order to preserve the working capacity of their employees and allow them to continue working after reaching retirement age.
By the way, the experiment with shortening the working day in Sweden, carried out by officials now, is not the first. From 1989 to 2005, a similar experiment was carried out in Kiruna. Here, 250 workers worked on a six-hour schedule for 16 years. It had to be stopped. The reason is the lack of visible positive results and employee complaints about the excessive amount of work.
At the same time, a number of tech startups from Sweden continue to maintain a six-hour workday for their employees.
“We began to value time more than money,” says the director of Filimundus. – I am sure that a lot of people would choose more free time at the expense of salary. We believe that happy employees are the most important thing for a company. If the employees are happy, the company is happy.” Indeed, the results of companies that have commercial activities are more positive than the results of public companies. Thus, the productivity of employees of the same Filimundus has increased significantly, and employees show satisfaction with their position and work in general.
The head of Internet Brath, Maria Bras, claims that her company, thanks to the introduction of a short day, was able to obtain more professional personnel, plus the company became more competitive in the labor market. It should be noted that Internet Brath has been working on a reduced schedule for employees for more than three years - it started in early 2013, when the company's staff was no more than 20 people.
In these types of companies, shortened working hours can serve as an additional incentive for employees who are unlikely to want to leave such a comfortable workplace in order to move to a company with longer working hours. For now, the experiment is ongoing, and we will be able to learn about additional results in a few months.
The Swedish authorities are planning to conduct another experiment - this time in the city of Sundsvall, among workers of social institutions.
