Preferably shorter working hours – if salary is not affected

A large majority of Swedes say they would like to work less, but support for reduced working hours plummets if it involves financial sacrifices. This is shown by a new Novus survey conducted on behalf of pension company Skandia.

The survey shows that three out of four are positive about shorter working hours as long as their salary remains unchanged. But when various financial consequences are taken into account, the picture changes quickly. If a shorter workweek means a lower pension, worse salary development, or that working life would need to be extended, seven out of ten instead say no to the proposal.

“It’s quite natural that an overwhelming majority answer that they can imagine working less if it has absolutely no financial effect,” says Skandia’s pension economist Mattias Munter to Tidningen Näringslivet.

He believes that the attitude is largely determined by one’s own finances.

“The attitude towards shorter working hours is strongly linked to how it affects one’s own finances. If it means a cost to the individual in some way, it’s not as interesting. Then, 70 percent do not think it’s a good proposal,” he says.

According to the survey, only about one in five is still positive about shorter working hours if the reform leads to weaker salary development. Half of Swedes also prefer to keep the current setup rather than alternatives where working hours are reduced but are financed by a longer working life or by working more hours at other periods in life.

Content with the current system

According to Munter, this suggests that many appreciate the current balance between working hours and income. He also believes that the debate on shorter working hours often becomes too simplistic.

“The proposals that have been put forward mostly concern shorter hours with unchanged pay, but at the same time, we know that there are usually no free lunches – it has to be paid for somewhere.”

The issue of shortened working hours has become one of the larger labor market questions in the past year. LO is pushing for shorter working hours, primarily through collective agreements, while the employers’ side warns of increased costs, weakened competitiveness, and lower growth. Several employer organizations have also claimed that, given an aging population and weak economic development, Sweden rather needs more worked hours, not fewer.

The survey also shows that many question their own stamina in working life. Nearly one in four do not think they will manage to work until retirement. Among those who do not think they’ll make it, half believe that part-time work would be the solution to being able to work longer. Stress, high workloads and physically demanding work tasks are cited as the main obstacles.