The trade unions are doing it, parts of the political left as well – raising the issue of shortening working hours. How it will be done and what it will cost is unclear, while employers and right-wing parties are protesting loudly.
When the Statistics Sweden (SCB) asked the general public, it turned out that 820,000 Swedes, or approximately 18 percent of the employed, want to change their working hours, provided that their salary is adjusted accordingly.
510,000, or 11 percent of the employed, want to reduce their working hours, from an average of 42.8 hours per week to a desired working time of 33.2 hours. The rest, primarily those working part-time, want to work more.
The statistics show that Swedes' working weeks, among the employed, have on average become about one hour longer since 2005 – mainly as a result of part-time employed women getting more hours.
Swedes work shorter working weeks than the EU average, but more than our Nordic neighboring countries. At the same time, Sweden has a higher employment rate, proportion of the population in employment, than most other EU countries.
The survey is based on responses from 2023.
