---
title: Want a Shorter Workday? Move to Sweden
description: Eight hours a day is way too much at some Swedish companies.
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published: '2015-10-01T21:06:03.000Z'
modified: '2024-04-02T05:33:52.000Z'
section: Lifestyle
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![1280x720[10]](https://img.money.com/2015/10/1280x72010.jpg)

Want a shorter workday? Move to Sweden. The eight-hour workday is considered the backbone of the blue-collar life, but it doesn't have to be that way. Several Swedish companies are instituting six-hour workdays for the same pay, and they claim productivity has increased. Thirteen years ago, Toyota switched its Gothenburg facilities to two six-hour shifts with reduced breaks. "Staff feel better, there is low turnover and it is easier to recruit new people," says a spokesperson. Gothenburg municipal staff has also tested the shorter work day. A recent poll found 40% of Americans work 50 hours a week, but a [Stanford](https://money.com/best-colleges/) study indicates that such long hours negatively affect job performance and productivity.

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