this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2024
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Two short weeks in a row feels about right as far as work/life balance is concerned. Dreaming that the four day work week becomes the norm before I retire in about 20yrs
On the one hand I'm keen for a 4 day week, but on the other... How is it going to work from a dollar value point of view? We're in a trade and we exchange our labour for an hourly rate. If we're going to be getting paid the same amount of money (as the theory goes) in a 32 hour week instead of a 40 hour week, our hourly rate will have to go up to cover the difference. Which makes us more expensive. Which means the people using us have to put their fees/charges/income-generator up. And now whoever buys their product/service has to charge more or earn more to cover it. Repeat until we all earn infinity but still have zero buying power.
I can only comment to what I've read. It's been trialled in many companies and countries worldwide. The general trials pay employees the same wage, as they almost unanimously find that productivity increases. People fit the same amount of work into four days (maybe working longer hours those days) because they are more refreshed each week. Even better, the productivity increases seem to be maintained over time.
As the old saying goes, work always expands to fill the time available.
It might not work for every business but it's worth looking at.
My big takeaway from that is that there are people out there who can do their current job in 4 days instead of 5... which suggests they're bludging 20% of the time ;)
If I was a middle manager I'd suggest cutting 20% of the workforce.
Spoken like a true middle manager :) I was one myself until a few years ago, I hated managing staff.
The 5 day work week is a social construct anyway. Life for all would be better if we all had a little more leisure and time to relax, not to mention other benefits like reducing traffic and emissions. When people are well rested there is less mental health problems, road rage, and generally make clearer decisions. Burnout is a huge problem across the workforce, at all levels.
The line must keep going up...unless you wanna buy a house🏳️