( CNN ) -- A design studio in the Netherlands has found an imaginative way to encourage its employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance -- at 6 p.m. their desks simply disappear . In the evenings and on weekends , Heldergroen 's large communal work tables , which are made from recycled telephone poles , are lifted up into the ceiling on steel cables . The nifty key-operated system allows the Haarlem-based firm to create a new space for other activities , such as networking events , yoga classes and even food festivals . `` We think that doing activities like this makes it easier for people to work here , '' Vincent Stolk , a junior art director at the company , told CNN by email . `` You know when it 's time to relax or do something else that inspires you . '' With its computers and other belongings tucked up securely in the ceiling , the company makes the space available for free to `` anyone with great ideas and possibilities , '' said Stolk . `` We believe that if you give something ... you will eventually get something back , '' he said . `` But besides that , it 's just very cool to elevate your table every single time . '' Working smarter , not longer . Heldergroen is n't the first company to find novel ways to create an office culture that promotes working smarter , not longer . Many recent initiatives have focused on redrawing the line between work and play that has been blurred by advances in technology . In 2011 , Volkswagen began restricting email access for some of its employees in Germany when they were off duty . French technology company Atos is working towards eliminating internal email use altogether after research found only around of tenth of the emails staff received on an average day were useful . In the Swedish city of Gothenburg , a group of civil servants began scaling back their work day to six hours this summer , as part of a government trial to see whether shorter work days can improve productivity and lead to employees taking fewer sick days . Regional attitudes . Although Europe seems to be leading the charge , attempts to improve productivity and prevent burnout appear to be catching on in other regions . Energy recruitment firm Spencer Ogden has transformed its Singapore office into a quirky space complete with astro-turf floors , miniature golf and a giant opium bed in the `` Not Bored Room . '' And if employees hit their targets three months in a row , they 're rewarded with an all-expenses-paid week working remotely from an office in Ibiza . But initiatives like these are still very much the exception in Asia , where working hours are notoriously grueling . On average , South Koreans work 2,163 hours per year , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development -- more than any other OECD country except Mexico . In Indonesia last year , a 27-year-old advertising agency writer collapsed and later died after reportedly working excessive hours . Japan even has a word that means `` death from overwork '' ( Karoshi ) . Those working in professional services , such as bankers , consultants , accountants and lawyers are particularly vulnerable , according to Leslie Perlow , a professor of leadership in organizational behavior at the Harvard Business School . She found that some 94 % of professionals in these sectors said they worked at least 50 hours a week . A pressure to be `` always on '' is to blame , Perlow wrote in the Harvard Business Review . But even in these industries , it 's possible for employees to unplug while also meeting the needs of their clients , she said . Perlow helped the Boston Consulting Group introduce a program where consultants were allocated one day or evening a week where they would not be contacted by colleagues or clients and could turn off their phone and email . `` We found that when the assumption that everyone needs to be always available was collectively challenged , not only could individuals take time off , but their work actually benefited , '' she said .
Desks at a Dutch firm are lifted on cables after hours . The company is one of the biggest employers in the Netherlands and employs around 10,000 people. More companies are recognizing the importance of encouraging efficiency to prevent burnout .