Hey Sweden, f*ck you!

We're kidding, it comes from a place of envy. Raging, all consuming, green envy.

Sweden has been slowly moving towards a six hour work day, in a move to increase the productivity, health, and happiness of its workforce. 

Linus Feldt, CEO of Stockholm-based app developer Filimundus, told Fast Company that "I think the 8-hour work day is not as effective as one would think. To stay focused on a specific work task for 8 hours is a huge challenge. In order to cope, we mix in things and pauses to make the work day more endurable. At the same time, we are having it hard to manage our private life outside of work".

"We want to spend more time with our families, we want to learn new things or exercise more. I wanted to see if there could be a way to mix these things".

To cope with the loss of hours in the workday, Feldt says Filidimus simply ask workers to stay away from social media and other distractions, and work intensely for the six hours they're in the office, seems like a fair trade off to us. "My impression now is that it is easier to focus more intensely on the work that needs to be done and you have the stamina to do it and still have energy left when leaving the office".

The company has not only seen the level of productivity stay the same, but have seen a decrease in the number of workplace conflicts, as staff are better rested and happier. The public sector is even trying the change, with nurses at a government-run retirement home doing six-hour shifts. While the costs were greater, the fact that patients received better care was enough of a reason to continue it. Imagine that.

The Toyota service centres in Gothenburg moved to six-hour days 13 years ago, and again swear by the working time frame. Look, if the Swedes are doing it now, surely we'll have it by around 2043, right? So it's just a waiting game from here.

A study conducted by University College London last month, which worked with 600,000 people, showed that those who clock up a 55-hour week will have a 33 percent greater risk of having a stroke than those who maintain a 35- to 40-hour week.

So basically we should all just slip out of work a few hours early when the boss isn't looking, and if they call you up on it, it's a medical condition.

Via Co.Exist and ScienceAlert