Thread: Americans want a four day work week

#worklifebalance

https://www.inverse.com/article/3161...-day-work-week

That is already happening with many business's.

While this might work for some, it is not a "one size fits all" solution.
Hourly wage workers would either have to take a pay cut, or work 4 10s. Again, while some might be able to afford the decrease in income and see it as an equitable trade, others might just be forced into taking part time work on their "days off" to make up the difference.
4 ten hr days doesn't work for everyone either. Several years ago my employer went to a 4-10 work week for the Summer. In my particular case, it just wasn't worth it. A had a long commute at the time (~ 1 hr each way), so by the time you factored in commute time, time spent getting ready to go to work, time spent getting ready for bed, Sleeping etc. I ended up with just a couple of hrs a day of free-time during the 4 day work week. The "extra day off" never seemed to make up for it.

It's like when they start talking about raising the retirement age. Sure, office workers could probably work a few more years to retirement without too much trouble, but there are still people out there that work physically demanding jobs that take a toll on the body. Making them work those extra years to retirement is going to be harder on them. You are adding on those extra years of physical demand during a point of their life when the body just doesn't recover like it used to.

It's normal desire I suppose

Originally Posted by Janus

While this might work for some, it is not a "one size fits all" solution.
Hourly wage workers would either have to take a pay cut, or work 4 10s.

It may not happen in long run. Shorter mandatory week = increased labor demand = lower unemployment = increase in hourly wage (hopefully) = no pay cut. 100 years ago workers could work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, but it doesn't necessarily mean they received higher monthly wages by purchasing power parity than those people who work 40 hrs. a week now. There should be some reasonable correspondence between labor productivity and working hours. The level of labor productivity may not need as many working hrs. as before. Salaries may stop growing indefinitely if demand for workforce is always low.

In reality, most employees on a four day week will most likely be expected to work the same 40-hour weeks, but in four days instead of five. Longer days could have a significant effect on your employees' stress levels and therefore their overall wellbeing and productivity.