Is everyone working too hard? During the nineteenth century, labor leaders advocated for the “eight-hour day.” Until then, it was usual to work six days a week, with a typical working day lasting between 10 and 16 hours. New technology and tougher labor restrictions seemed to be paving the way for a more leisurely existence, with economist John Maynard Keynes predicting a 15-hour week within a century. In recent years, some businesses have experimented with a four-day work week. One New Zealand company recently hailed its experiment a tremendous success, claiming that its staff are much more productive if they have more time to recoup and juggle other obligations (Ronen et al., 61). Proponents believe that a shorter work week benefits workers who want more flexibility, such as those who are seeking to manage care for children or other family members. Some believe that stress levels might actually rise as employees are expected to accomplish more with less time, and they view a four-day work week as an excuse to slash wages while expecting people to complete the same amount of work. The paper argues on the fact that more working days in week would yield much more
Considering one of the world’s clearest instance, employees in the Netherlands already take a “mummy day” or “daddy day” off each week to care for their children. Despite working just around 29 hours per week on average, the Netherlands is one of the richest nations in the world, with a GDP per capita of more than $50,000 (Flynn 532). Should other countries follow their example? This instance would be highly applicable based similarity of resources of all kinds. However, various techniques would work well in particular areas and fail to other given instances.
Having an extra day off from work and commuting may have a significant impact on personal time. It is not only the employee who stands to profit from a shorter workday.
There are several studies that suggest different advantages, such as lower stress, greater productivity, and happier more engaged workers. When considering a job change, competent workers may find it difficult to give up their right to an additional day of vacation each week. Salary exempt employees are not entitled to overtime pay, therefore a shorter workweek does not affect their income (Bird 1059). Regardless of how many hours or days a person works each week, he or she is paid the same amount of money each week.
Overtime compensation is due to non-exempt employees (whether salaried or hourly). If an employee works more than 40 hours in a week in the majority of the United States, she is entitled to overtime pay. One would get the same amount of money for an employee who worked four ten-hour days and five eight-hour days. There is a lot of debate about vacations in terms of hours or days in many industries (Flynn 532). As long as everyone in the office is employed, day references would be considered fine, thought there is need to take care if some people are employed on traditional weekdays and others are employed on alternate schedules. In most cases, businesses are free to devise their own vacation policies, but these companies are still obligated by their employee handbooks, so be sure to spell out in your policy just how much time off you want to provide your workers.
In a contrary opinion, working for 40 hours a week would have a deteriorating effect to a country’s economic advantages. To begin, not every firm or employee can benefit from a four-day workweek. Having an employee that is unavailable every Friday might have a negative impact on your clients’ expectations (Flynn 532). As a result of having an additional day off each week, some people may notice a decrease in productivity, while others may find it refreshing.
Making childcare a challenge is made more difficult by working four days a week. On a typical 8 am to 5 pm workday, many daycares and after-school care programmes operate on the assumption that the parent is at work all day long. To suit a parent’s non-standard schedule, they do not open at 6 am or remain open until 8 pm.
In the instance of an exempt employee who works an alternative schedule, they may feel compelled to phone into meetings or react to messages on their day off (Bird 1059. This is unfair, but you must determine whether the employee’s team is negatively impacted by the alternate timetable. For non-exempt employees, it is important to keep in mind that you must pay them for any extra hours worked outside of the four-day workweek.
However, in other states, such as California, an employee who works more than eight hours in a day is entitled to overtime compensation. If an employee works four days a week, he or she would earn 32 hours of straight pay and eight additional hours of overtime each week for a California non-exempt employee.
As of today, there are several articles regarding the advantages of having a four-day workweek as the norm. There are a lot of people interested in hearing about how a four-day work week has improved productivity, happiness, and overall quality of life for both employees and organizations throughout the nation and across the globe. And the TUC and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, seem to agree that this is the best course of action.
As a company, we are thrilled that the demand for shorter working hours and the possible commercial advantages of doing so are being shared throughout the world. Flexibility in the workplace is a topic that has been debated and debated for many years (Flynn 346). As part of our annual Timewise Power 50 awards, we honor individuals who work less hours, as well as companies that allow employees to work flexible schedules.
These discussions regarding a four-day work week are encouraging us to believe that more firms will consider the advantages of allowing their workers to work less. In addition, if this is something you would want to look into, we would be more than pleased to help. The four-day work week is not the same as a part-time employment, and it is not a magical solution that works for everyone. It is crucial to emphasize.
There are a lot of examples out there, but they tend to come from one end of the job spectrum: those in information and creative professions such as PR. Despite the fact that these positions are becoming more common in other industries, they remain in the minority. An official four-day work week must be implemented at the organizational level; it cannot be granted to a small group of employees (Katzman 198). Even if a company can afford it, it may be impossible or excessively expensive to automate some positions or industries.
There are several industries where the output of a person is the physical service they provide, such as retail, education, or the aviation business. To put it another way, by being accessible for just 4/5ths of the time, they can only fulfil 4/5ths of their duty. It seems improbable that enterprises, particularly those in low-margin industries, will be able to pay a full-time salary on this basis. Even in manufacturing, where workers are making an actual product that takes time to build, cutting the workweek to four days would mean that they generated just four fifths of their quota. In this case, a full-time salary is unlikely to be paid.
Automation, on the other hand, may be helpful in the latter case. There is a lot to be said for the idea of companies passing on the benefits of automation to their workers by paying them the same income for working fewer hours (Flynn 346). Even though this may be the case, I am not aware of any instances of automation efficiency being shared out in this manner; savings are more usually provided to shareholders or the company’s bottom line.
Innovative and adaptable solutions are needed in hard-to-break industries. What, therefore, is the solution? A lot of effort must be done at the policy and government levels if the four-day week becomes more commonplace. This cannot happen rapidly in manufacturing businesses or service-oriented, low-margin sectors like the ones indicated above. What we need is a massive amount of cooperation and innovation, as well as an enormous financial commitment.
Short-term solutions include looking at methods to improve these businesses and sectors by creating creative flexible positions. The term “innovation” is critical in this context. Just as four-day workweeks are difficult to implement in certain industries, so too are more flexible schedules. People that know how flexible job design works are needed to come up with creative solutions.
The Innovation Unit is actively involved in a variety of experimental projects including the nursing, facilities management, education, and retail industries. Keep an eye on our Twitter and LinkedIn feeds for updates on the materials we will be generating based on our findings, as well as the outcomes of the pilots themselves. In addition, if you are in a similarly hard industry and would want to explore your choices, please contact me. Let us congratulate those who have made the switch to a four-day work week. If other organizations can do so, we should urge them to do the same. Nonetheless, let us continue to work on bringing flexible working to the most difficult-to-reach industries so that no one is left behind.
Works Cited
Bird, Robert C. “Four-day work week: old lessons, new questions.” Conn. L. Rev. 42 (2009): 1059.
Flynn, Paul. “Should the NHS work at weekends as it does in the week? No.” BMJ 346 (2013).
Katzman, David M. Seven days a week: Women and domestic service in industrializing America. University of Illinois Press, 1981.
Ronen, Simcha, and Sophia B. Primps. “The compressed work week as organizational change: Behavioral and attitudinal outcomes.” Academy of Management Review 6.1 (1981): 61-74.
