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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday August 12 2020, @04:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the 4-tens? dept.

It's time to implement a 4-day workweek

In May, Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur and former Democratic presidential candidate, floated the idea of implementing a four-day workweek to better accommodate working Americans in a time of uncertainty, saying a shorter workweek could have mental-health benefits for employees.

There's not one overarching definition of a four-day workweek. "There are different models for the shortened week, some of which envision the same output condensed into fewer hours while others simply imagine longer hours spread over fewer days," a Washington Post report said.

Some involve a three-day weekend, while others mean a day off midweek.

[...] "It would help get us off of this hamster wheel that we're on right now, where we're all sort of racing against the clock in service of this giant capital-efficiency machine," Yang said. "And the race is driving us all crazy."

In a Harris poll conducted in late May, 82% of employed US respondents said they would prefer to have a shorter workweek, even if it meant longer workdays.

The idea of a shorter workweek has become so popular in Finland that Prime Minister Sanna Marin has called for employers to allow employees to work only six hours a day, four days a week. In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern proposed the policy as part of a coronavirus economic recovery effort.

Andrew Barnes, the CEO of Perpetual Guardian, introduced a four-day workweek at his company in New Zealand in 2018.
Barnes, a cofounder of the nonprofit platform 4 Day Week Global and the author of "The 4 Day Week," said he found that "stress levels drop, creativity goes up, team cohesion goes up" under such a policy.

[...] Microsoft experimented with a four-day workweek last year at a subsidiary in Japan as part of its "Work-Life Choice Challenge." The subsidiary closed every Friday in August and said it saw productivity jump by 40% compared with the previous year.

I'm somehow attracted to the idea, be it only for the reason the weekends are the most productive time for me, with no meeting interruptions (large grin)


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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 13 2020, @01:55AM (8 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 13 2020, @01:55AM (#1035937) Journal

    What they will do is work at something they enjoy, like gardening or fishing or walking the dog or knitting.

    Or rotting on the couch watching TV. Or joining a street gang to make ends meet.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday August 13 2020, @02:58AM (7 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Thursday August 13 2020, @02:58AM (#1035957)

    Or rotting on the couch watching TV.

    If that is what they want to do, I don't see why it's any of your business.

    Or joining a street gang to make ends meet.

    If they're not put in the position where they have to make that choice then they won't make that choice. But of course if fewer hours of work means not earning enough to get by, then I suppose they will have to make that choice, won't they?

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 13 2020, @01:01PM (6 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 13 2020, @01:01PM (#1036105) Journal

      Or rotting on the couch watching TV.

      If that is what they want to do, I don't see why it's any of your business.

      It becomes my business when someone wants to do something that will mess up my life to enable and protect such a lifestyle.

      If they're not put in the position where they have to make that choice then they won't make that choice. But of course if fewer hours of work means not earning enough to get by, then I suppose they will have to make that choice, won't they?

      "IF". "IF". Lot of ifs with no justification for them.

      • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday August 13 2020, @10:18PM (5 children)

        by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Thursday August 13 2020, @10:18PM (#1036329)

        Really? Weird.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday August 14 2020, @01:00AM (4 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 14 2020, @01:00AM (#1036387) Journal
          Several people have bandied about the hypothetical example of regulating 20 work weeks (with presumably harsh overtime penalties to keep companies from employing people longer). The most likely outcome of such a reduction is people working two jobs. Or maybe people working one job where 20+ hours of overtime is expected. Basically, these just throw obstacles in front of productive people which they need to work around.

          And what's supposed to be the benefit? Some vague assertion that people will, like, do stuff? Well, I think I can already figure that out from what they do now.
          • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Friday August 14 2020, @01:17AM (3 children)

            by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Friday August 14 2020, @01:17AM (#1036390)

            And you've accused me of making assumptions? wow, OK.

            People discuss the possibility of people working shorter weeks and your mind goes straight away to "your rights" and the possibility of violence.

            That says quite a lot about you.

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday August 14 2020, @02:54AM (2 children)

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 14 2020, @02:54AM (#1036406) Journal

              People discuss the possibility of people working shorter weeks and your mind goes straight away to "your rights" and the possibility of violence.

              You can already do that. There's no need to "implement" any sort of shorter work week. Just work less or squeeze what you work into less days.

              It's painfully clear that this is really advocacy to force everyone to implement labor policy rather than just some call for people to voluntarily work fewer days per week.

              That says quite a lot about you.

              That I can read between the well delineated lines.

              • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Friday August 14 2020, @03:15AM (1 child)

                by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Friday August 14 2020, @03:15AM (#1036411)

                But I'm making assumptions. Ok then.

                • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday August 14 2020, @03:46AM

                  by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 14 2020, @03:46AM (#1036417) Journal
                  Why are we reading about politicians calling for shorter work weeks? Do we care about their opinions?

                  Or maybe we like to talk about the multiple definitions of a four-day work week as presented by the Washington Post? The people who feel less guilt when they work four days a week instead of five?

                  Why redefine full time work rather than just work part time?