this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2023
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
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If people can be as productive with a four-day workweek (and other surveys and studies have shown this to be the case), there should be no need for workers to sacrifice anything.
Realistically, employers should be the ones sacrificing to keep productive staff happy, including giving them a four-hour workweek with no strings attached.
Tbh if we got a four day work week we would have more time to think about and advocate for the things we want anyway. A pay cut would be temporary.
That's why the owner class doesn't want it. Keep the masses busy and tired.
I would be outraged, but I'm just too tired 😩
Now we're getting somewhere!
After all, a typical office employee only does 15 minutes of real actual work.
If people are as productive in 4 days as they are in 5 days, I don't see how the employer would be sacrificing anything at all. They would just be saving a day of office lighting bills.
The employer will see that you "could" be doing more work, since you accomplish everything in 4 hours. "You don't have enough work to occupy your time", they'd say in my country.
That's why people act busy. Because when you're efficient, you get punished with more work.
This is true. My company has afternoons off in the summer (4.5 day work weeks). Basically they acknowledge that no one is doing anything after lunch on a Friday.
The same amount of actual work gets done. It's actually more efficient because no one is coming up with useless meetings and busywork.
The "sacrifice" is number of total man hours going down. Nevermind that the remaining hours are vastly superior to the ones you lose, that's a number that's smaller, and unless that's "how much we're paying", numbers being smaller is a bad thing, mmkay?