Sweden is looking at the possibility of cutting the working day to six hours.

Business Argus asked local businesses what they thought of the idea and whether it would work here in Wales.

Steve Morgan, Steve Morgan Associates, Newport

The six-hour day was the ideal that we all thought we could achieve by the Millennium. Unfortunately, the reality is that the lack of skilled staff, particularly in the construction industry, prevents the reduced working day. While we promote a good work life balance for staff, senior staff are often working 10 hour days. In my opinion, the six-hour day isn’t a change which will occur in the construction industry in the near future, however, there are several moves towards improving work/life balance that we are seeing more often for office-based staff. Home working is often a more productive option for staff that have any distance to travel to the office and, if managed well, benefits both parties.

Our working day is 7.5 hours with an hour for lunch, fewer working hours than many of our competitors. We also insist on staff not working weekends (directors excluded!) and, whenever possible, aim to finish early on a Friday at least once a month. It would be interesting to know if the Swedes intend to reduce salaries accordingly based on the reduced working hours. Not sure how staff would react to six hour days and corresponding pay cuts.

Kate Richards, territory manager, Budget Vets, Newport

I’m sure staff in the veterinary industry would love to have six hour shifts as most of them work eight to 12 hour shifts. Unfortunately animals get sick 24/7. There is already a massive amount of pressure on veterinary practices to provide an out-of-hours service. This is a result of first opinion practices no being able to provide clients with a 24-hour service. Therefore, practices which do provide an out-of-hours service are generally more expensive due to unsociable hours and a massive need for them in the market.

Lauren Patterson, property assistant, M4 Property Consultants, Cwmbran

Six hours wouldn’t work in our industry because there are always people who want to view properties outside traditional working hours. We need to be available for these and I’m not sure if we would be able to get everything done within our working day! How would this affect those on an hourly rate, on zero hour contacts and those that rely on overtime to make up their income? It could work in Sweden because they have infrastructure already in place but here in the UK we aren’t and I don’t think every will be equipped to reduce the working day to six hours.

John Newell, director, Kingston Newell, Newport

I personally can’t ever see a six hour day coming into play in the UK. I stand to be corrected but don’t us Brits put in some of the longest working hours in Europe, if not the world? It would be too much of a change for it be accommodated here. I keep my phone on 24/7 and am guilty of frequently checking work messages etc but I actively encourage my team to leave work in work and go home and enjoy their personal time. It’s very important to separate work from your personal life, it leads to the individual being more productive and happier in both.