Nowadays, the hours that people spend working have been limited and supported juridically in some countries. These laws are introduced due to several reasons such as maintaining public mental health and increasing effectiveness of work. In my opinion, this change is a positive development.
The laws regarding shortening hours of work are usually introduced because they considerably benefit mental health of population. When people work less, they have more free time which they can spend to hobbies or with friends and family. Having more leisure time significantly decreases the level of stress that employees get at their work, thereby minimizing the risk of breakdown or depression. For instance, the rate of stress of Italian bank workers is the lowest compared to other countries due to their short working days. The research revealed that employees there are generally happier and thus life longevity is higher.
Moreover, limiting working hours positively affects the average work efficiency. These laws are aimed to establish more comfortable conditions and process of work. It is proven that when people work more hours, they tend to become slower and make more mistakes. Therefore, it is in employers’ interests to create conditions in which workers would be more productive. For example, in the Soviet Union people used to work six days a week and 8 hours per day; people could not recover in one day before new working week. So, their work efficiency used to be lower than now.
In conclusion, the introduction of laws about limiting working hours had several reasons and showed positive development. Firstly, shorter working days significantly contributes in mental health of people who work, decreases the level of stress and improves quality of life. Secondly, employers try to improve working conditions and increase efficiency of workers. So, shortening working hours benefits both employees and employers.