The economic benefits of a six-hour business day for a company
In the past, more and more Swedish companies are switching to a six-hour working day . Such a reform helps to solve a lot of problems: labor productivity increases, as does the level of happiness among employees (which is also directly related to labor productivity ), and the quality of services in the service sector increases. In order to fully appreciate the effect of the transition to a six-hour working day, a two-year experiment was conducted at the Gothenburg Elderly Care Clinic. And according to the results of this experiment, the city government declared that this mode of operation is inexpedient . The logic is simple: during the experiment, we had to significantly increase the cost of staff. In order to compensate for the reduction in the work time of 68 employees, 17 more people had to be hired. This cost the city budget an additional 12 million crowns ($ 1.3 million). As a result, after two years of experiment in February 2017, the clinic returned to standard eight-hour shifts.
But a more thorough analysis of the results of the Gothenburg experiment shows that the clinic management did not take into account the long-term economic benefits of a six-hour working day.
The main unaccounted factor in the statistics of the Hotebororg clinic is the improvement of the health of the staff (more precisely, the staff members of the clinic nurses) after switching to a six-hour working day. As a result, the number of sick days they take and the amount of health care expenses are significantly reduced.
The unrecorded benefits are listed in a scientific paper published by researcher Bengt Lorentzon.
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The analysis showed that the nurses on a six-hour working day began to take less sick leave than when they worked for eight hours. Moreover, they took less sick leave than all the nurses in all the clinics in Gothenburg. When switching to the six-hour schedule, the number of sick-lists decreased by 4.7%, and the difference with the control group is 62.7%.
At the same time, the nurses began to take a little less unplanned time off. This is also quite logical, given that the employees have more free time for personal affairs.
The organizers of the experiment recognized that the improved mood and health of the nurses had a positive effect on the quality of service. But they did not consider the long-term economic effect of improving the health of female employees.
It should be noted that, on the whole, nurses in Sweden have poorer health than women of all other professions. For example, they have a higher body mass index than the average worker.
But a two-year experiment showed that the health of the nurses at the Svartedalens clinic, who were transferred to a six-hour working day, is better than that of their colleagues from other clinics. Including they have a more satisfactory blood pressure.
From other studies it is known that health care costs for healthier employees may be two times lower. A study of the health and insurance costs of 10,000 health care workers in the Florida health care system showed that workers with an “ideal” state of the cardiovascular system spend $ 4,000 less on health care than workers in a “bad” state of the cardiovascular system. However, when insurance costs are taken into account in the USA, then it is necessary to remember the exceptionally high prices for medical services in this country. For example, a leg fracture with a call for an ambulance and a few days in a hospital would easily cost the patient $ 100,000. Therefore, it is so important to have medical insurance that covers these expenses.
This example shows that the organizers of the experiment in Gothenburg did not take into account all the possible benefits of switching to a six-hour working day. In particular, the savings on medical care due to the improved health of female employees were not considered at all. Perhaps missed some other factors.
Obviously, better efficiency and a better mood of employees should also bring some economic benefits to the employer. In the case of nurses, this benefit is difficult to quantify, but it definitely is. For example, in software companies, some employers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve mood and reduce employee stress — they use massages, give access to the gym and free food. But when you switch to a six-hour day, your mood improves and the level of stress decreases as if by itself, although in the USA or Russia, for example, this option is usually not considered at all.
Or maybe instead of actively dealing with stress, you just need to avoid this stress?
But a more thorough analysis of the results of the Gothenburg experiment shows that the clinic management did not take into account the long-term economic benefits of a six-hour working day.
The main unaccounted factor in the statistics of the Hotebororg clinic is the improvement of the health of the staff (more precisely, the staff members of the clinic nurses) after switching to a six-hour working day. As a result, the number of sick days they take and the amount of health care expenses are significantly reduced.
The unrecorded benefits are listed in a scientific paper published by researcher Bengt Lorentzon.
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Savings on sick leave
The analysis showed that the nurses on a six-hour working day began to take less sick leave than when they worked for eight hours. Moreover, they took less sick leave than all the nurses in all the clinics in Gothenburg. When switching to the six-hour schedule, the number of sick-lists decreased by 4.7%, and the difference with the control group is 62.7%.
At the same time, the nurses began to take a little less unplanned time off. This is also quite logical, given that the employees have more free time for personal affairs.
Savings on medical care
The organizers of the experiment recognized that the improved mood and health of the nurses had a positive effect on the quality of service. But they did not consider the long-term economic effect of improving the health of female employees.
It should be noted that, on the whole, nurses in Sweden have poorer health than women of all other professions. For example, they have a higher body mass index than the average worker.
But a two-year experiment showed that the health of the nurses at the Svartedalens clinic, who were transferred to a six-hour working day, is better than that of their colleagues from other clinics. Including they have a more satisfactory blood pressure.
From other studies it is known that health care costs for healthier employees may be two times lower. A study of the health and insurance costs of 10,000 health care workers in the Florida health care system showed that workers with an “ideal” state of the cardiovascular system spend $ 4,000 less on health care than workers in a “bad” state of the cardiovascular system. However, when insurance costs are taken into account in the USA, then it is necessary to remember the exceptionally high prices for medical services in this country. For example, a leg fracture with a call for an ambulance and a few days in a hospital would easily cost the patient $ 100,000. Therefore, it is so important to have medical insurance that covers these expenses.
This example shows that the organizers of the experiment in Gothenburg did not take into account all the possible benefits of switching to a six-hour working day. In particular, the savings on medical care due to the improved health of female employees were not considered at all. Perhaps missed some other factors.
Obviously, better efficiency and a better mood of employees should also bring some economic benefits to the employer. In the case of nurses, this benefit is difficult to quantify, but it definitely is. For example, in software companies, some employers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve mood and reduce employee stress — they use massages, give access to the gym and free food. But when you switch to a six-hour day, your mood improves and the level of stress decreases as if by itself, although in the USA or Russia, for example, this option is usually not considered at all.
Or maybe instead of actively dealing with stress, you just need to avoid this stress?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/403295/
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