Working life | In Finland, it would not be worthwhile to repeat the British study as it is, the researchers estimate

Provided In Finland, they would like to organize an experiment on a four-day work week, it should be prepared carefully, say the researchers interviewed by HS.

Research director of the Institute for Economic Research (Etla). Antti Kauhanen says that he is fundamentally critical of the idea of ​​a four-day work week.

“Our working-age population is shrinking, which is why maintaining a welfare society requires more productivity per employee,” says Kauhanen.

“In that sense, this is a problematic idea, because in the majority of workplaces it is in no way believable that it would be possible to cut an entire working day out of the week without productivity suffering, let alone improving productivity.”

Discourse the possibility of a four-day working week was awakened this week, when the experiment involving a total of about 2,900 employees ended in Britain.

More than 90 percent of the participating companies plan to continue the four-day work week, at least for the time being, as productivity even improved in many of them during the experiment.

Read more: The world’s largest trial of the four-day work week ended in Britain: Stress decreased, productivity increased

Behind the experiment in Britain were the independent research organization Autonomy and the 4 Day Week Global organization, which promotes a four-day work week.

Etlan Kauhanen says that in principle he is not opposed to experiments aimed at increasing work efficiency and reducing the workload of employees or even the number of these working hours.

“In general, one could consider whether it is worth taking as radical a line as the British study, or whether to start with something a little more moderate, reducing working hours.”

According to Etlan Kauhanen, the problem with the British experiment was also that the participating companies had voluntarily applied to be participants in the study.

“Therefore, we didn’t learn what such a change would mean in an average company, because only those who were initially positive about shortening the working week were selected,” says Etlan Kauhanen.

“This problem would mostly be solved with a randomized experiment.”

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“We have successfully organized various experiments in Finland before.”

Ramble on the lines is the leading researcher of Labore, the former Salkansaajien Research Institute Merja Kauhanen.

“A randomized experiment would give the best results in such a situation, but it is more difficult to implement one. However, companies cannot simply be ordered to shorten their working week”, says Laboren Kauhanen.

However, he has a more positive attitude towards the possible experiment than Etlan Kauha.

“In Finland, we have successfully organized various experiments in the past, from which we have been able to learn lessons for decision-making”, Laboren Kauhanen states and refers to, for example Juha Sipilä for the government’s basic income experiment and for the municipal experiment that is running until the summer.

Another challenge in the British study is that, during that time, other changes were made in the companies than only those related to working hours. For example, efforts were made to eliminate unnecessary meetings and prioritize work tasks.

“Then the question always arises, how much of the positive results is due specifically to the shortening of working hours and how much is due to some other factors.”

“If there is a political desire to organize such an experiment in Finland, it should be properly prepared so that it would definitely answer the questions that are sought from it.”

Four-day the working week has been a theme in Sdp and the Left Alliance, the pursuit of which has always surfaced at regular intervals. Now both are presenting it to the next government term to be resolved.

“The results of the British experiment are extremely interesting. They show that a shorter working week can both improve productivity and the well-being of employees”, also the chairman of the left-wing union Lee Andersson states to HS.

“We really can’t afford in today’s society that even more people fall out of the workforce due to burnout,” Andersson says, referring to recent research data, according to which burnout or an increased risk of burnout already affects one in four people under the age of 36.

Read more: Researcher: “Young people’s burnout is an incredibly big problem for the national economy”

The same is the opinion of the vice-chairman of the Sdp Matias Mäkynen.

“However, I emphasize that the goal of such an experiment would be specifically to increase productivity,” states Mäkynen.

According to the British experiment, the four-day work week increased productivity by, among other things, increasing well-being at work, reducing sick leave and reducing the need for recruitment due to a decrease in employee turnover.

According to Mäkynen, for example, in sectors suffering from a labor shortage, a shorter work week could act as an attractive factor.

“Companies could be encouraged to participate in such an experiment, for example by calculating their health insurance premiums for the duration of the experiment. The results of the experiment would also lower the risk of companies doing their own experiments later.”

Mixed Andersson and Mäkynen agree with the researchers interviewed by HS that if such an experiment is organized in the next government term, it will require good preparatory work.

“We need to start from the fact that there could be different types of models for shortening working hours in the private and public sectors and within them for different sectors. The same model of a four-day week is not suitable for everyone,” says Andersson.

“It is not up to politicians to determine what kind of experiment should be carried out in Finland. The experimental setup should be prepared properly, calmly and led by researchers,” Mäkynen also states.