Paying you to have sex:
STOCKHOLM: A local official in Sweden has a novel proposal to improve work-life balance and lift the local birthrate: give municipal employees an hour-long paid break each week to go home and have sex.
Sweden is already celebrated for its generous welfare state, including 480 days of paid parental leave, universal healthcare and a common ritual of coffee and pastry, known as fika, which is considered sacrosanct.
Per-Erik Muskos, a 42-year-old councilman from the northern town of Overtornea, wants to add to those benefits, by offering the municipality’s 550 employees the right to subsidised sex. In introducing his proposal this week, he told fellow members of the town council that it would give a nudge to the dwindling local population, add spice to aging marriages and improve employee morale.
Noting that “sex is also a great form of exercise and has documented positive effects on well-being”, Mr Muskos suggested that local municipal employees could use an hour of the work week already allotted for fitness activities to go home and have sex with their spouses or partners instead. The motion, which is expected to be voted on in the spring, needs a simple majority to be passed by the 31-member council. As of now, opinion on the council is divided.
“We should encourage procreation. I believe that sex is often in short supply. Everyday life is stressful and the children are at home,” Mr Muskos explained in his motion. “This could be an opportunity for couples to have their own time, only for each other.”
His proposal has generated praise, ridicule and criticism. Some critics fear single workers could while away their working hours on the dating app Tinder trying to find a date for their weekly interlude.
When Mr Muskos introduced the motion on Monday, some council members giggled while others said they were not amused. But befitting a progressive country which has long been perceived as a beacon of sexual enlightenment the proposal was taken in stride.
Mr Muskos told colleagues the proposal was no joke, although he acknowledged practical problems such as enforcement. It would be difficult to tell, for example, if an employee eschewed sex in favour of a walk in the country.
Sweden has among the highest fertility rates in the EU, according to Eurostat, the bloc’s statistic agency, in part because of the country’s generous parental leave systems and immigration. But the fertility rate has nevertheless been decreasing recently.
Malin Hansson, 41, a sexologist and specialist in reproductive health in Gothenburg, applauded the initiative, arguing that sex reduced stress, improved sleep and strengthened immunity, while enriching intimacy between couples.
“If it was up to me, I would introduce this across the country,” she said, adding: “In Sweden, sex is considered just another activity.”
Others were less persuaded. Tomas Vedestig, 42, a left-leaning municipal councilman in Overtornea, said when Mr Muskos made his pitch, his colleagues were so taken aback that they thought they had misheard him. Mr Vedestig said the proposal was intrusive and threatened to embarrass people who do not have sexual partners, do not want to have sex or had medical conditions that precluded sex.