Four-day workweek?

[Tigers!]

I work 4 days a week. Granted, it's 4 10 hour days, but even then it's better than 5. When we switched to 4 10s (because that's what most of the workers wanted) I was put on the "donut" schedule. Two days on, one day off. Two days on, two days off. I loved it. Every other day was "Friday." When that shift went away, I was put onto "back half," working Wednesday through Saturday. It is still better than 5 days. When you're working 5 days, you get home Friday evening, wind down, you have Saturday to yourself, and then Sunday is a "school night" where you have to gear up to get back into the grind. When I get home on Saturday afternoon, I wind down. Then I have Sunday to myself. Then Monday. Then Tuesday is a "school night" where I have to set my alarm again.

But wait...there's more! In a M-F 9 to 5 world, you have to take time off to compensate for the fact that everyone else is on the same schedule. Doctor's appointments, car repairs, and other stuff that happens during those times suddenly becomes a lot easier when you're working 4 days. Monday morning meeting with my cardiologist? No problem. If I had 2 hours cut off from each day of work? I would be so much more productive.

4 day week sounds good but the difficulties are not hard to find.
Schools - what happens to the kids on that 5th day? Parents work schedules may not line up with school days. Childcare would be the same.
Medical - what happens if you 4 day schedules aligns with the doctor? You will still have the same problem of getting in.
Shopping - Stores might be closed on your day off. Then what?
Etc., etc.

As Bilby noted earlier the 4 day week is just a poorly disguised attempt at a large pay rise.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

And how are companies supposed to cope with a 20% reduction in productivity?

Those poor billion dollar companies. Won't someone think of them? They should consider counseling.

 

[Elixir]

And how are companies supposed to cope with a 20% reduction in productivity?

Those poor billion dollar companies. Won't someone think of them? They should consider counseling.

Maybe lay off the avocado toast for a couple of days.

Medical - what happens if you 4 day schedules aligns with the doctor? You will still have the same problem of getting in.
Shopping - Stores might be closed on your day off. Then what?
Etc., etc.

Obviously a one day - or better yet, a zero day work week would be ideal.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

And how are companies supposed to cope with a 20% reduction in productivity?

Those poor billion dollar companies. Won't someone think of them? They should consider counseling.

Maybe lay off the avocado toast for a couple of days.

Those companies need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps. Man up! Tough it out!

 

[JohnG]

My coworkers want a 4x10 hr work week as well. Our mgmt isn't budging.

Recently they asked us "What would make us happier?" (morale has been very poor)

Someone took a long shot and said more money (we have been getting 2 to 3% raises for the last 6 years) - they said no it cant be done (I work for a subsidiary of Mitsubishi - $159.676B in 2023)

Another suggestion was 4 x 10 work week, which we presented with a workable sched that we all agreed upon. No (for a ridiculous reason)

As a sad and tragic joke someone said more donuts.

Guess which one we got?

 

[Ford]

My coworkers want a 4x10 hr work week as well. Our mgmt isn't budging.

Recently they asked us "What would make us happier?" (morale has been very poor)

Someone took a long shot and said more money (we have been getting 2 to 3% raises for the last 6 years) - they said no it cant be done (I work for a subsidiary of Mitsubishi - $159.676B in 2023)

Another suggestion was 4 x 10 work week, which we presented with a workable sched that we all agreed upon. No (for a ridiculous reason)

As a sad and tragic joke someone said more donuts.

Guess which one we got?

A pizza party in the conference room?

Sorry, but that sucks. I work for a subsidiary of General Motors, and a couple people in my department recently got bumped up to the next level. We were all shocked when they only got a 7% raise instead of the 10% the rest of us got when we were promoted. A regular raise without promotion was 5%. When we suggested 4x10 schedule, they took it seriously, crunched the numbers, and agreed because it worked out better for them.

 

[Elixir]

My coworkers want a 4x10 hr work week as well. Our mgmt isn't budging.

Recently they asked us "What would make us happier?" (morale has been very poor)

Someone took a long shot and said more money (we have been getting 2 to 3% raises for the last 6 years) - they said no it cant be done (I work for a subsidiary of Mitsubishi - $159.676B in 2023)

Another suggestion was 4 x 10 work week, which we presented with a workable sched that we all agreed upon. No (for a ridiculous reason)

As a sad and tragic joke someone said more donuts.

Guess which one we got?

A pizza party in the conference room?

Sorry, but that sucks. I work for a subsidiary of General Motors, and a couple people in my department recently got bumped up to the next level. We were all shocked when they only got a 7% raise instead of the 10% the rest of us got when we were promoted. A regular raise without promotion was 5%. When we suggested 4x10 schedule, they took it seriously, crunched the numbers, and agreed because it worked out better for them.

Who paid off the number crunchers?

The School district here is on a four day week - or a three day weekend, as it mostly seems.
Having read stuff about how counterproductive it can be to overwork kids, and having a pretty bad attention deficit myself, it has been surprising to see so many of those kids thriving. Of course I only see the ones that are out and about, often at work (lifeguarding, raft guiding or retail) so don’t know about the ones holed up in their houses for three days straight playing Fortnight or something …
Anyhow, the four day schedule seems to benefit the enterprising, the ones who are using that “extra” time to build a resume.
But adults probably just drink beer if you give them another day to drink beer.

 

[Ford]

My coworkers want a 4x10 hr work week as well. Our mgmt isn't budging.

Recently they asked us "What would make us happier?" (morale has been very poor)

Someone took a long shot and said more money (we have been getting 2 to 3% raises for the last 6 years) - they said no it cant be done (I work for a subsidiary of Mitsubishi - $159.676B in 2023)

Another suggestion was 4 x 10 work week, which we presented with a workable sched that we all agreed upon. No (for a ridiculous reason)

As a sad and tragic joke someone said more donuts.

Guess which one we got?

A pizza party in the conference room?

Sorry, but that sucks. I work for a subsidiary of General Motors, and a couple people in my department recently got bumped up to the next level. We were all shocked when they only got a 7% raise instead of the 10% the rest of us got when we were promoted. A regular raise without promotion was 5%. When we suggested 4x10 schedule, they took it seriously, crunched the numbers, and agreed because it worked out better for them.

Who paid off the number crunchers?

It was the shift managers (who made our schedules) that said "no, this actually works better for our needs, and we want it, too." They took it to the department manager, and she took it to the head of operations. She said "oh...you're right. Let's do that, then." The higher ups occasionally listen to us.

 

[Tigers!]

As a sad and tragic joke someone said more donuts.

Guess which one we got?

i was going to suggest more floggings.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

As a sad and tragic joke someone said more donuts.

Guess which one we got?

i was going to suggest more floggings.

Spank me daddy

 

[Loren Pechtel]

And how are companies supposed to cope with a 20% reduction in productivity?

Those poor billion dollar companies. Won't someone think of them? They should consider counseling.

In other words, eat the rich with no regard for what happens.

32 hour workweek, expect 20% of the economy to be gone. If you don't change prices you'll just get 25% of inflation.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

And how are companies supposed to cope with a 20% reduction in productivity?

Those poor billion dollar companies. Won't someone think of them? They should consider counseling.

In other words, eat the rich with no regard for what happens.

32 hour workweek, expect 20% of the economy to be gone. If you don't change prices you'll just get 25% of inflation.

I can just as easily say you don't give a shit about the consequences for others' mental health.

 

[Ford]

And how are companies supposed to cope with a 20% reduction in productivity?

Those poor billion dollar companies. Won't someone think of them? They should consider counseling.

In other words, eat the rich with no regard for what happens.

32 hour workweek, expect 20% of the economy to be gone. If you don't change prices you'll just get 25% of inflation.

The rich can still be rich. No need to eat them at all.

Maybe nibble around the edges.

Bring it back down to the level of a CEO making 10 or even 20 times what the average employee makes as opposed to 400 or 500 times.

And from what I hear, studies looking at 4 day/32 hour weeks say it leads to greater productivity rather than the 20% drop you're claiming.

But let's say it does neither. Productivity remains the same. The company makes the same profit as before. What's the problem?

There is some historical precedent here. When the labor movement demanded 40 hour weeks, the capitalist class claimed - as you are doing right now - that restricting workers to less than 60 or 70 hours a week would absolutely tank the economy. It would be a disaster. Cats and dogs, living together. None of that happened.

 

[Jokodo]

And how are companies supposed to cope with a 20% reduction in productivity?

Those poor billion dollar companies. Won't someone think of them? They should consider counseling.

In other words, eat the rich with no regard for what happens.

32 hour workweek, expect 20% of the economy to be gone. If you don't change prices you'll just get 25% of inflation.

You say that right after being shown empirical studies that show the per hour productivity increase in many fields basically offsets the lost hours?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

And how are companies supposed to cope with a 20% reduction in productivity?

Those poor billion dollar companies. Won't someone think of them? They should consider counseling.

In other words, eat the rich with no regard for what happens.

32 hour workweek, expect 20% of the economy to be gone. If you don't change prices you'll just get 25% of inflation.

I can just as easily say you don't give a shit about the consequences for others' mental health.

Chasing the impossible isn't a route to good mental health.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

And how are companies supposed to cope with a 20% reduction in productivity?

Those poor billion dollar companies. Won't someone think of them? They should consider counseling.

In other words, eat the rich with no regard for what happens.

32 hour workweek, expect 20% of the economy to be gone. If you don't change prices you'll just get 25% of inflation.

I can just as easily say you don't give a shit about the consequences for others' mental health.

Chasing the impossible isn't a route to good mental health.

Being a workaholic isn't good for mental health.

 

[lpetrich]

 Four-day workweek - it's gotten a lot of good reviews.

Iceland approved the 4-day workweek in 2019, nearly 6 years later, all the predictions made by Generation Z have come true.

In 2019, Iceland made headlines by becoming one of the first countries in the world to adopt the four-day working week, not through a general law, but through agreements allowing workers to negotiate shorter weeks or reduced hours. Five years on, the results are indisputable.

The Icelandic experiment began in 2015 with a pilot phase involving around 2,500 employees, or just over 1% of the country’s working population. Following the resounding success of this initiative, with 86% of the employees involved expressing their support, the project was formalised in 2019. Today, almost 90% of Icelandic workers benefit from a reduced working week of 36 hours, compared with 40 hours previously, with no loss of pay.

...
Icelandic reports show that productivity has remained stable, and even increased in some sectors. One of the keys to this success lies in improving the mental health of workers, a crucial aspect highlighted by Generation Z. The reduction in stress, combined with a better work-life balance, has had a significant positive impact on employee well-being.

 

[lpetrich]

4 Day Week Global - from its About page:

4 Day Week Global seeks to reshape the way we think about work, by moving the conversation away from hours, and onto productivity and output.

73% of German companies that tried a Four-Day Workweek will keep the schedule as productivity scores were higher: A new era for work?

The rise of the 4-day workweek - "Employees are enthusiastic about a shortened schedule. What does the research say?"

• Four-day workweeks are growing in popularity, spurred by a recent rise in flexible work.
• Pilot studies have found that switching to a 4-day workweek improves worker well-being and job satisfaction and can reduce certain costs for organizations.

 

[lpetrich]

A four-day work week? - at Boston College

BC Professor of Sociology Juliet Schor, who serves on the 4DWG academic board, departmental colleague Associate Professor Wen Fan, and University College Dublin faculty member Orla Kelly, who holds a doctorate in sociology from BC, are assessing the results.

Released this month, the study’s most recent data—from the first and second trials, which involve nearly 33 companies—indicates a high level of satisfaction on the part of both employers and employees with the four-day week: Companies noted an improvement in productivity and growth in revenue; workers reported less stress and burnout, and an overall positive effect on mental and physical health.

Most significantly, when asked whether they would continue using the four-day model, “none of the companies answered ‘no’ or ‘likely no,’” according to Schor.

Why does productivity continue without dropping?

Schor and Fan said the main reason employees have maintained productivity in the four-day week is that companies have decreased or cut activities with questionable or low value in the day-in, week-out operation. Meetings—a traditional source of complaints among employees and managers alike—have been a major target in this reorganization, with personnel turning to phone calls, messaging apps, or other means of communication.

The other key to increased productivity, they noted, is that four-day week employees tend to use their third day off for doctor’s appointments or other personal errands that they would otherwise try to cram into a workday. Employees also reported devoting the extra day off to hobbies and leisure activities, household work, and personal grooming, all of which often contribute to good mental health and general life satisfaction.

 

[lpetrich]

• Countries with a 4 Day Work Week | 4DayWeek.io - "Although no country has fully adopted a 4 day work week, many of the countries below are experimenting with one or have a short average working week."
• 10 Countries Experimenting With a 4-Day Work Week, From Belgium to Japan | Condé Nast Traveler
• Four-day week: Which countries are embracing it and how is it going so far? | Euronews

All of these are countries with at least some experimentation with a 4-day workweek.

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK (Scotland, Wales), USA, United Arab Emirates