Norway leaves work to reclaim time

By Jorn Madslien
BBC News Online reporter

In a world where long working hours, high stress levels and a growing sense of powerlessness is causing heart attacks and heart ache in equal measure, a somewhat naive movement offers relief.

Driven by the realisation that life in the fast lane and the constant scramble for greater material wealth is far from glamorous, a movement of Norwegian idealists which calls itself "07-06-05" has set out to reclaim time.

Central to its philosophy is a belief that what people really want from life is more sleep, more sex and more time with their friends and families.

"Life is moving extremely fast in society, and it is not easy for individuals or even for companies to make choices to change this," 070605's spokeswoman Elisabet Molander told BBC News Online.

"The distinction between work and leisure gradually fades away. It is time to reduce the tempo and reclaim time."

Liberation

Bizarrely, perhaps, 07-06-05 is named after 7 June 2005.

"The seventh of June is the date of Norway's liberation from Sweden, and the seventh of June 2005 is the 100th year anniversary," Ms Molander explained.

But the liberation Ms Molander and her fellow time-conscious colleagues seek is from increased consumption and more stress which they say pose global threats against the environment and against health.

"The project offers no answers, but suggests that we should spend the next years until June 7th 2005 thinking about this and adjusting our lives accordingly," 07-06-05 said in a statement.

To aid the thought process, the movement has advertised extensively in recent weeks urging people to do what they can to make life more pleasant on 7 June every year.

Go on, do it!

On 7 June, the movement urges you, and everyone else, to:

• Make waffles for your colleagues
• Visit your grandmother
• Give a compliment to somebody who needs it
• Cycle to work together
• Discuss something important over a glass of beer
• Write a letter to somebody you have not spoken with for a very long time
• Play hide-and-seek even if your are older than 12
• Don't watch TV for once
• Set aside time to talk about what you really dream about
• Turn off three light-bulbs

"Small, simple solutions are key to achieve major change," Ms Molander said.

Productivity boost

It's the sort of talk that gets the average Anglo-American or even Continental European industrialist grumbling.

Not so in Norway, Ms Molander insisted.

"There is a different culture in the UK, France and other countries where people are worked to the ground," she said.

For this oddly named movement is not an anti-business philosophy.

"We work closely with Norwegian enterprise," Ms Molander said.

"Many companies see that sick leave is rife, that people burn out, that the joy of work is zapped out of people and that this hurts productivity."

So, apparently, many firms back change.

Rapid success

The movement started two years ago, on 7 June 2000. The whole nation was invited to take a break, to take time-out between 12pm and 1pm.

"The invitation was adverted in different national newspapers, transmitted through radio and television and through our website," 07-06-05 said.

"And people actually did take a break! It was very successful!

"In towns around Norway, and even in Oslo, the capital, people joined the campaign and showed support by taking a break from daily life and stress, sat down in a park, had a good, slow meal with friends and colleagues."