How many hours do you work every week? The standard in India, if you're working for eight hours every day for five days, is 40 hours. And yet, there are countries where people work for lesser hours and produce more. There are various types of arrangements companies and various countries are providing which facilitates the employee to work lessor hours and be more productive.
Lets look at some of concepts, which have been adopted
Four-day week
A Four-day week is an arrangement where a workplace or school has its employees or students work or attend school over the course of four days rather than the more customary five. This arrangement can be a part of flexible working hours, and is sometimes used to cut costs, as seen in the example of the so-called "4/10 work week," where employees work a normal 40 hours across four days, i.e. a "four-ten" week. Denmark was first in europe to provide this facility. Utah State in United State had Four-day week system from 2008 to 2011. Four days work week is also introduced in Gambia for public officials. In New Zealand, trust company Perpetual Guardian announced in February 2018 that it would begin trialing a four-day work week in March 2018.
35-hour working week
The 35-hour working week is a measure adopted first in France, in February 2000. This is done to take advantage of improvements in productivity of modern society to give workers some more personal time to enhance quality of life. Germany, Switzerland and Ireland are among 35 hours working countries.
Shining Mondays
The Japanese government is mulling over plans to give Monday mornings off to its workers to fight overwork. The government plans to enact “Shining Monday” – where once a month, workers will get to have a lie-in on Monday morning, and only clock in after lunch.
The economy, trade and industry ministry believes that “Shining Mondays”, part of a wider campaign to address the punishingly long hours many Japanese work, will give employees a much-needed lie-in at the start of the working week. The move comes as the country has been plagued by the rampant occurence of “karoshi” (death by overworking) over the last few years. The move aims to improve the country’s poor record on work-life balance.
Norway's employees work the least, and are still the most productive
The people of Norway are expected to work for only 27 hours every week--one of the shortest in the world--and still they have ranked as the second most productive country in the world by a survey. Add to this mix the report of another study which claims that the Norwegians form the happiest workforce in Europe, and you'll be more surprised than ever.
Despite Norwegian workers enjoying one of the shortest workweeks at 27 hours, they still manage to yield a productivity sum of 39.72 GBP (337 kroner) per person for every hour worked, and the output per person has grown by nine percent over the past year.
Denmark's labor laws : "Flexicurity"
Denmark's labor laws are based on a concept called "flexicurity" - a unique model in which it's easy for employers to either hire or fire workers, but workers are also protected by a generous government safety net. Unemployment benefits can last up to two years.
Danish workers average 33 hours a week and have a right to at least five weeks of paid vacation each year. The work culture in Denmark is similar to that in the rest of Scandinavia. Flexible work schedules are common and paid vacation time is ample. When the OECD ranked nations based on work-life balance last year, Denmark came out on top.
Lets look at some of concepts, which have been adopted
Four-day week
A Four-day week is an arrangement where a workplace or school has its employees or students work or attend school over the course of four days rather than the more customary five. This arrangement can be a part of flexible working hours, and is sometimes used to cut costs, as seen in the example of the so-called "4/10 work week," where employees work a normal 40 hours across four days, i.e. a "four-ten" week. Denmark was first in europe to provide this facility. Utah State in United State had Four-day week system from 2008 to 2011. Four days work week is also introduced in Gambia for public officials. In New Zealand, trust company Perpetual Guardian announced in February 2018 that it would begin trialing a four-day work week in March 2018.
The 35-hour working week is a measure adopted first in France, in February 2000. This is done to take advantage of improvements in productivity of modern society to give workers some more personal time to enhance quality of life. Germany, Switzerland and Ireland are among 35 hours working countries.
Shining Mondays
The Japanese government is mulling over plans to give Monday mornings off to its workers to fight overwork. The government plans to enact “Shining Monday” – where once a month, workers will get to have a lie-in on Monday morning, and only clock in after lunch.
The economy, trade and industry ministry believes that “Shining Mondays”, part of a wider campaign to address the punishingly long hours many Japanese work, will give employees a much-needed lie-in at the start of the working week. The move comes as the country has been plagued by the rampant occurence of “karoshi” (death by overworking) over the last few years. The move aims to improve the country’s poor record on work-life balance.
Norway's employees work the least, and are still the most productive
The people of Norway are expected to work for only 27 hours every week--one of the shortest in the world--and still they have ranked as the second most productive country in the world by a survey. Add to this mix the report of another study which claims that the Norwegians form the happiest workforce in Europe, and you'll be more surprised than ever.
Despite Norwegian workers enjoying one of the shortest workweeks at 27 hours, they still manage to yield a productivity sum of 39.72 GBP (337 kroner) per person for every hour worked, and the output per person has grown by nine percent over the past year.
Denmark's labor laws : "Flexicurity"
Denmark's labor laws are based on a concept called "flexicurity" - a unique model in which it's easy for employers to either hire or fire workers, but workers are also protected by a generous government safety net. Unemployment benefits can last up to two years.
Danish workers average 33 hours a week and have a right to at least five weeks of paid vacation each year. The work culture in Denmark is similar to that in the rest of Scandinavia. Flexible work schedules are common and paid vacation time is ample. When the OECD ranked nations based on work-life balance last year, Denmark came out on top.
