After several years as a manager, Anna-Carin Alderin became interested in the labor market of the future and caught sight of “4 Day Week Global”, a non-profit organization that collaborates with universities such as Boston and Cambridge to study the effects of shorter work weeks.
– I am a mother of small children, have worked in high positions and really tried to get my life together. I see that there are many ways in which we can work smarter, she says.
How does it work in Sweden?
Anna-Carin has now initiated a Swedish research study where 15 to 20 workplaces will test working fewer hours over a six-month period, starting this autumn. Leading the research is Lena Lid Falkman, lecturer at Karlstad University. She is interested in investigating how to deliver the same amount of work in less time, and what people do in their free time.
– There are a few Swedish companies and organizations that have done their own studies, but not with validated research measures. For me, it is important to find out how this works in Sweden, she says.
Risks with the project
The former TCO investigator and economic historian Mats Essemyr has recently written a report on reduction of working hours, on behalf of the think tank Futurion. He thinks that more research in the field is welcome in Sweden, but also sees risks in introducing new working hours, without any local agreement between company management and the union.
– If you return to the five-day week after the period, it creates uncertainty in the working conditions, he says.
See more about the project in the video – and hear about how shortening working hours has also become a current political issue.