New measurement: Strong support for shorter working hours

New measurement Strong support for shorter working hours

Updated 06.18 | Published 06.18

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The issue of shortening working hours has been high on the political agenda.

Several of the parties on the left come forward with their own proposals and among voters there is strong support for shortening working hours, shows a new survey by Aftonbladet/Demoskop.

  • Shortening working hours has become a popular issue in politics, with strong support among voters. 58% of the participants in an Aftonbladet/Demoskop survey support shorter working hours.
  • Despite strong support from the left-wing parties, LO wants the issue to be negotiated by the parties and not legislated by the politicians.
  • It is not yet clear exactly how much the parties want to shorten working hours, which is expected to affect voter flows if the issue ends up high on the agenda.
  • ⓘ The summary is made with the support of AI tools from OpenAI and quality assured by Aftonbladet. Read our AI policy here.

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    Shortening working hours has become a hot potato in politics.

    Several of the parties on the left are behind shortened working hours and the Social Democrats have made it clear that the party will develop its own proposal.

    The work is led by S-top Annika Strandhäll.

    But LO wants politicians to keep their hands off legislating on the matter. The new LO chairman Johan Lindholm has been clear that he wants the parties to negotiate on the matter.

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    full screenAnnika Strandhäll (S). Photo: Lotte Fernvall

    Almost 6 out of 10 want to shorten working hours

    The question is whether the parties on the left will obey LO. In the own electorate, support for reduced working hours is strong.

    In a recent survey by Aftonbladet/Demoskop, a whopping 58 percent of those questioned answered that they were in favor of shorter working hours. 25 percent are against and 17 percent are doubtful.

    Mainly, it is women who are in favor of shortening working hours; 68 percent say they are in favor. Among men, the corresponding figure is 49 percent.

    The issue of shortening working hours has the strongest support, not entirely unexpectedly, among voters on the left.

    Among S-voters, 82 percent are in favor of shortening working hours in some way, with the Left Party the figure is 96 percent.

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    full screen Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/TT

    “Knows his constituents”

    Demoskop’s CEO Karin Nelsson says that the issue is highly political and that it is likely that the parties on the left will stick to the issue going forward.

    – Because they know their voters and know that the issue is important to their sympathizers, they will push this.

    The survey has not specified in what way or to what extent working hours should be reduced. The question has been asked in general – whether the respondents are for or against shorter working hours.

    Voters on the right say no

    Moderate voters are more skeptical. 47 percent of the surveyed M voters are against shortening working hours, 28 percent are in favor and 25 percent are doubtful.

    In the left-wing bloc, which consists of S, V, MP and C, 81 percent respond that they are in favor of shorter working hours.

    In the right-wing bloc, which consists of M, KD, L and SD, 35 percent say they are in favor. 44 percent are against.

    – Those who are in favor talk about health, reduced sick leave, a better balance between work and leisure, says Karin Nelsson.

    – Those who are against talk about financial consequences for society and companies, lack of skills, how it affects welfare and how it should be financed. You can imagine that the arguments against are arguments that can be found on the right.

    Among SD voters, 42 percent are in favor of shortening working hours, while 39 percent are against.

    The issue may move voters

    Karin Nelsson believes that the issue can move voters between the parties if it ends up high on the agenda.

    In addition, it is crucial how a possible proposal will look in practice. So far, it is unclear exactly how much the parties want to shorten working hours.

    MP is behind a four-day week. What S and V want is not yet known.

    – Now a long strike in healthcare has just ended, where working hours have been reduced. But in parallel with this, retirement age, skills development are discussed and we have unions and employers who work with skills provision, says Karin Nelsson.

    – The issue will grow in importance and the question is how the parties handle it.

    FACTS About the survey

    The survey was carried out by Demoskop on behalf of Aftonbladet within the framework of the Inizio panel, which reflects the Swedish people. The target group is the general public aged 16 and over. The survey includes 1,059 interviews during the period 28 June and 3 July 2024 and is conducted as a web survey.

    The selection is pre-stratified and weighted by age, gender, region and party in the previous election.

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    Join our opinion panel

    Do you want to take part and answer Demoskop’s surveys where we find out what the Swedish people think about, for example, social issues and politics? Results are presented, among other things, in Aftonbladet. Answering is voluntary, you are anonymous and can opt out whenever you want. Click on the link to sign up.

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