Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Aug 04, 2025

'I Thought He Was Joking': Finnish Huawei Boss Slammed for 'Crazy' 7-Day Work Week Proposal

'I Thought He Was Joking': Finnish Huawei Boss Slammed for 'Crazy' 7-Day Work Week Proposal

According to Huawei Finland's cyber security chief Mika Lauhde, who personally admitted to having worked 80-hour weeks with no summer vacation for years, seven-day work weeks would bolster Finland's stance against competitors.

Huawei Finland's cyber security chief Mika Lauhde has raised eyebrows with his suggestion to introduce a seven-day work week to catch up with China and the US.

According to Lauhde, Huawei's employees in Silicon Valley and Shenzhen regularly work 80 hours a week with minimal vacations.

“I work 80-hour weeks all the time myself and I haven't had summer vacation in four years”, Lauhde said.

Lauhde's interview sparked strong reactions as he clearly went against the common European trend, as countries and major companies are discussing shorter working hours. Earlier Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin even toyed with the idea of a six-hour working day.

Annina Ropponen, a professor at the National Institute of Occupational Health, first thought that Lauhde's proposal was a joke and said that it wouldn't work in Finland.

“I think it's simply impossible, how would we handle our everyday life? In some Asian countries it may work, but it depends on the work culture. There are some workers who work a long way from home, travel to work once a year, work for several months, and then return home for a few weeks holiday”, she told national broadcaster Yle.

According to Ropponen, Europeans devote more attention to their leisure and rest than in other parts of the world. She also points out that in Finland and large parts of Europe there are no personnel willing to work on an assembly line, such as in China.

“If you are not willing to work 80 hours a week, then someone else will,” Ropponen said, referring to the rock-hard competition.

Juha Ojala, the head of consulting at the service union PAM, called Lauhde's proposal “completely crazy”. According to him, free time and holidays don't affect productivity in a negative way.

“It is not a coincidence that the labour legislation and the collective agreement both stipulate a 40-hour work week. I believe our labour legislation is completely right”, he said.

Instead, he also advocated shorter working weeks that would increase efficiency. According to Ojala, for a small country like Finland, it is almost impossible to compete with countries with larger populations when it comes to workload.

Ojala sees Finland's strength lies in other areas: not quantity, but knowledge.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), workloads of 55 hours and over lead, among other things, to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. According to Ropponen, this 55-hour limit should be applied to all jobs.

“We have a biophysiological clock in us. We need a certain amount of sleep and leisure so that we can recover and do something else. And that applies regardless of whether we perform physically, mentally or cognitively challenging work,” she emphasised.

According to her, productivity reaches its maximum during the first hours of the working day and then drops markedly.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
×