Finland is Wrong. 4-Day Workweeks Should Not Be Your Goal

Finland is the envy of slackers everywhere, except for maybe France.

It just came out in the news that Finland's newly-installed prime minister, Sanna Marin, wants to condense the workweek.

The 34-year old millennial proposes to put the entire country of Finland on a four-day workweek consisting of six-hour workdays in a bid to transition the country to what she called "the next step for us in working life."

Specific details of Marin’s proposal have not been announced, but it's always easy to make grand claims with no specific way of actually making it a reality in the real world.

Sanna Marin took office and became the world’s youngest prime minister in December.

In 2015, neighboring Sweden also tested out the six-hour workday but found it a burden on public coffers.

I'm sure her idea stems from the idea that so many people have of "work-life balance."

But if you are making a middle-class income, work-life balance is the wrong goal. You don't need balance in your life — you need money.

Here is how Finland is getting it wrong:

You should focus on earning, not on comfort.

The middle-class wants nothing more than to be comfortable, even if that means they NEVER will get rich.

Comfort is king for too many people. The problem is, if you are stuck making $50,000 a year you will never get out of being uncomfortable because you have nothing left over financially...even if you have 4-day workweeks.

If you become comfortable, you take less action. When you take less action, you stop pushing to fulfill your potential.

Seeking comfort over financial freedom is what separates the moderately successful from the most successful.

Find your passion and your work hours won't matter.

The Finnish will justify their new law by arguing that workers become burned out with no boundary between professional and personal life. But you don't become burned out because you get an email at 8 p.m. You get burned out because you haven't found your purpose in your work or your career.

Once you've found your purpose, you will not be watching a clock waiting to get home so you can watch your favorite sitcom after your long 6-hour day.

Instead of what you can get, figure out what you can give!

Life doesn't come with a guaranteed salary. Instead, when you give, you get a commission.

• If you eat healthily, you get the commission of good health.
• If you make an effort to find the right person, you get the commission of a marriage.
• When it comes to your career, recognition for a job well done is a commission.
• A raise or a promotion is a commission, too.

Instead of thinking about work in terms of how many hours you can take off, start thinking about what you can give. You'll be surprised at how much you can get back.

Laziness is self-defeating. In fact, laziness is an entitlement concept accepted by the middle class that crushes any chance you have of greatness.

The Finnish I'm sure will soon legislate laziness as a right.

And this Finnish entitlement has gotten a strong foothold in the U.S. Many people here believe the government should take care of them.

Take a moment to think about why you must have five days to work and take the weekend off regardless of your personal finances. If I were making $60,000 a year, I would not be content working 8 hours at a job that I leave at 5 p.m.

I'm NOT saying you must work like a dog and never have fun or take time off.

But if you feel entitled to have a 4-day workweek every single week...sorry, you will never get financially free.

Be great (or be broke),

Grant

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About Grant Cardone

CEO of CardoneCapital, international speaker, entrepreneur and author of The 10X Rule & creator of 21 best-selling business programs, Grant Cardone owns & operates seven privately held companies and a $1.4B portfolio of multifamily properties. Named the #1 marketer to watch by Forbes Magazine, Cardone is also the founder of The 10X Movement & The 10X Growth Conference, the world’s largest business & entrepreneur conference.