Mr. Muskos told colleagues the proposal was no joke, though he acknowledged practical problems like enforcement. It would be difficult to tell, for example, if an employee eschewed sex in favor of a walk in the country.

The proposal comes as countries across Europe are grappling with how to balance the rigors of modernity and work with the desire for better quality of life. In France, which already has a mandatory 35-hour workweek, subsidized health care and long vacations, the Socialist government recently passed legislation granting employees the “right to disconnect.” The measure calls for companies with more than 50 employees to help ensure that work does not intrude into days off.

Sweden has been at the forefront of European countries seeking to engender employee satisfaction. An experiment with a six-hour workday in the southern city of Gothenburg was recently scrapped after it was deemed too expensive. But proponents of the experiment, which was carried out over two years in a city-run retirement home, said it made employees happier, healthier and more productive. The six-hour workday has also proved successful in the private sector, including at a Toyota vehicle service center, where it helped improve business.

Demographic pressures have been worrying countries across Europe, including Spain, Italy and Germany. In recent years in Denmark, policy makers have been so concerned about the birthrate that they started to offer sex education classes focused on procreation rather than contraception. One travel company even introduced a “Do It for Denmark!” campaign, encouraging couples to take romantic holidays to try to procreate, claiming that Danes had 46 percent more sex while on holiday.

Sweden has among the highest fertility rates in the European Union, according to Eurostat, the bloc’s statistic agency, in part because of the country’s generous parental leave systems and immigration. But the fertility rate has nevertheless been decreasing recently.

Malin Hansson, 41, a sexologist and specialist in reproductive health in Gothenburg, applauded the initiative, arguing that sex reduced stress, improved sleep and strengthened immunity, while enriching intimacy between couples. “If it was up to me, I would introduce this across the country,” she said, adding: “In Sweden, sex is considered just another activity.”