Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Marin made her suggestions as Prime Minister of Finland. We have corrected the error. 

Sanna Marin, Finland's newly-installed prime minister, has radical ideas for instilling work-life balance.

Last year when Marin was still Finland's Transport Minister, she suggested that the country adopt a four-day work week or six-hour work days.

According to News Now Finland, she made the suggestions in August 2019, during the 120th anniversary of her political party, the Social Democratic Party.

Then, Marin said that "people deserve to spend more time with their families, loved ones, hobbies and other aspects of life, such as culture."

She also stated that this suggestion could be "the next step for [Finland] in working life".

Youngest serving prime minister in the world with radical ideas

Today, the 34-year-old mother-of-one helms Finland's Social Democratic Party with four other parties which are all headed by women.

She is also the youngest serving prime minister in the world.

Finland has supported flexible work schedules since 1996

While Marin's suggestion has not led to any concrete policy changes, Finland has been at the forefront of flexible work schedules for years, BBC reports.

In 1996, the government introduced the Working Hours Act which gave most employees the right to adjust their working hours up to three hours earlier or later than their employer's typical requirements.

On Jan. 1, 2020, Finland introduced a new Working Hours Act. Under this Act, most full time employees are able to decide when and where they work for at least half of their working hours.

Reduced work week beneficial for productivity and quality of work

The idea of a reduced work week has been experimented on in the corporate world and has gained a fair bit of traction in recent years.

For instance, a Melbourne organisation found a six-hour working day forced employees to prioritise tasks more effectively, limit interruptions and improve their quantity and quality of work, Harvard Business Review reports.

In August 2019, Microsoft Japan launched a four-day work week trial for its 2,300 employees and found that productivity soared by 40 per cent.

Reduced working days good for environment

According to The Guardian, reducing working days is also good for the environment.

One analysis found that if people spend 10 per cent less time working, their carbon footprint would decline by 14.6 per cent.

If working hours were cut by 25 per cent, it would result in 36.6 per cent reduction in the average person's carbon footprint.

For one, employees will travel less, resulting in less carbon emissions.

Working less also means consuming less electricity for air-conditioning and computer systems, which typically use up a lot of power.

Top image via Sanna Marin on Facebook.

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