Take a break, say employers — it’s good for all of us

By about 2030, people will probably work only 15 hours a week.

It seems clear now that the famous prediction, made by John Maynard Keynes in 1930, is unlikely to come true. But the cult of excessive work may also have had its day.

In Scandinavia, where people are currently enjoying up to four weeks of uninterrupted, legally protected, paid summer holiday, many of the region’s biggest companies say they’re keen to shield their employees from too much work.

Firms warn of the danger to productivity if staff aren’t allowed to switch off, and highlight the importance of management teams setting the tone by taking a long break.

Skanska, one of Sweden’s biggest construction companies, says it tells staff to “disconnect from the job” during their break. There’s a “strong link” between wellbeing and performance, says a spokesman. And that’s “largely about being able to relax when away from work”.

At SEB, one of the biggest Nordic banks and top trading hubs for the Swedish krona, managers are expected to play a “key role” in supporting the vacation culture by “setting a good example” in taking the allocated days, spokeswoman Veronika Osmund says.

Sweden, the biggest Scandinavian economy, requires companies to let employees take at least five paid weeks off a year, though many industries are regulated by collective agreements which often provide more free time. Similar arrangements exist across the rest of the region. The average European annual holiday allowance is four weeks.

In the US, companies that offer paid vacation tend to follow a progressive format, with employees earning days off the longer they work. A report last year by the Bureau of Labour Statistics showed that US private industry workers got an average of 15 paid holiday days a year, after half a decade of service.

Legislators in Scandinavia have decided that 15 days a year just isn’t enough to keep the employed population healthy and productive. All major companies contacted by Bloomberg voiced the idea that overwork is harmful to a healthy corporate environment. That’s backed by studies showing that employees who feel overworked are less productive.

At engineering group Sandvik, management doesn’t want people to take less than four weeks of paid holiday a year. “We feel that it’s important to facilitate a work-life balance for all employees, including senior management,” says spokesman Martin Blomgren.

The top executives and others working at GN Store Nord, a Danish hearing aid maker, get six weeks off a year and are encouraged to make sure they take the time, according to spokesman Steen Frentz Laursen.

SSAB, which makes steel plates, says that on top of having decent breaks, it’s also important to make sure staff don’t work too hard. Even taking a long holiday “can’t compensate for an unreasonably high workload during the remainder of the year,” says spokeswoman Mia Widell.

Some chief executives also have a policy of not responding to enquiries while they are on holiday.

“We think that executives need to take a break as well,” says a spokeswoman for Finnish telecoms company Elisa.

Or as Keynes put it in 1930: “We have been trained too long to strive and not to enjoy.”