Eight hours of work. Eight hours of leisure activities and chores. And eight hours of sleep and rest. This is how a day is normally considered to be distributed.
But can the hours spent at work be reduced? Naalakkersuisut must now investigate this.
Member of Inatsisartut Karen Marie Kyed Frederiksen (D) proposes that a study be conducted of the economic, social and health consequences of reducing working hours from 40 hours per week to 35 or 37 hours per week.
Naalakkersuisoq's Minister for Labour, Maritha Broberg (A), submitted an amendment to the proposal and suggested that the study should also include gender equality issues. This proposal was adopted by a majority in Inatsisartut. Naalakkersuisoq also promised that the report will be distributed to the members of Inatsisartut before the end of 2027.
The Holiday Act must be amended first
If shorter working weeks in the public sector are to become a reality, the Holiday Act must be amended first, the Ministry of Finance and Taxes informs the Business and Mineral Resources Committee.
- The overall working hours norm is, however, stated in the Holiday Act, which stipulates a working time of 40 hours per week.
- In this connection, the Ministry states that a change in the working hours norm will primarily relate to a revision of the Holiday Act.
INI has conducted experiments with 37 hours
It is also clear from the report that working less than 40 hours per week has neither been tested nor investigated in the public sector.
However, one of the things that Inatsisartut member Erik Jensen mentioned during the second reading of the debate on the subject was that at his own workplace, INI A/S, they work 37 hours a week.
It appears from INI's Facebook page that in 2025 the management company announced that they were conducting a one-year trial with a 37-hour workweek. According to INI, this was to the great satisfaction of the company's employees.
