Nordic countries like Sweden and Denmark offer valuable lessons on work-life balance. Seasonal factors like weather can impact mental well-being, as seen in Sweden where July is more pleasant than January. Denmark's transition to a shorter work week after World War II aimed to employ more people and involved a shift from agriculture to industry, leading to increased female employment in childcare roles.
Time off work is vital for your happiness. So what would you do if you couldn't take the same rest day as your family and friends? Would you quit your job? What if it was the murderous dictator Stalin giving you the order?
The Soviet Union wanted its factories to run every day, so workers were stopped from taking the same day off - killing the weekend as we know it. In a crossover between The Happiness Lab and Cautionary Tales, Dr Laurie Santos and Tim Harford discuss the pros and cons of everyone downing tools together and why holidays matter so very much.
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