A Stressful Situation.(World Affairs)(limiting sick leave for mental burnout in Sweden)

Byline: Karin Rives

Plans to rein in sick leave spur a backlash in Sweden.

By all rights the Swedes should be just thrilled with their lot. A year ago they voted into office the first non-Socialist government since the early 1990s, and they promptly cut taxes and instituted more-flexible labor laws. Result: Swedes now have more money in their pockets than ever before, and official unemployment, at 4.8 percent, is at its lowest level in five years.

But now the government, led by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, may have gone too far. This summer, it planned a law that would limit paid sick leave to three weeks for people suffering from an ailment known as mental burnout. When details leaked out in the newspapers, angry readers posted thousands of entries at major news sites to weigh in on the issue. Some accused the government of trying to kill off its weakest citizens. Newspaper opinion pages published testimonials from doctors and former burnout victims who warned that people would get even sicker under the new rules. "Do we want a health-care system based on cynical economics?" asked one prominent psychiatrist in a newspaper opinion piece. The plan was shelved.

The conflict over Swedish sick leave mirrors similar debates throughout Europe, where politicians and their constituents are gradually coming to the realization that competing against other Western nations, as well as emerging powerhouses like India and China, will be impossible without more-flexible labor laws and fewer expensive entitlements. But Sweden is unusual in that it is attempting to dramatically overhaul its laws despite some of the most robust economic growth in Europe. While polls show that Swedes generally understand that their lifestyle is unsustainable in the long term, the nation's economy is expected to grow 3.4 percent this year, compared with 2.5 percent in the euro region -- a fact that makes it particularly difficult for politicians to argue that reform is urgently needed.

Swedish workers also enjoy some of the most liberal benefits in the world, including two months' paid time off and 16 months' paid parental leave. True, the French and the Finns work even less, but while most West European countries limit sick benefits to a year or so, Swedes, with a labor ...