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Why a 40 hour work week?

It's too many hours. We should work two eight hour days and have five off instead.

by Anonymousreply 82August 19, 2022 8:27 AM

Agreed. But it is almost holy writ at this point. But agreed. I actually don't think it's sustainable. At some point everyone is going to catch on, we really don't need to do all this dicking around. It's mostly time wasting anyway. At some point we will all admit it.

by Anonymousreply 1August 13, 2022 5:03 AM

How do we make a shorter work week happen? A general strike?

by Anonymousreply 2August 13, 2022 5:58 PM

With employee shortages everywhere, now is the best time to make demands.

That said, I have always believed we should pay people for their skills and execution, not for the number of hours they spend at the workplace.

by Anonymousreply 3August 13, 2022 5:59 PM

I think the people who fought for labour fucked up with the five day, 40 hour work week arrangement. They should have demanded more back in the day instead of caving the way they did.

by Anonymousreply 4August 13, 2022 6:27 PM

You should consider yourself lucky that you have a job at all!

by Anonymousreply 5August 13, 2022 6:34 PM

Three 10-hour days, that's my final offer.

Longer shifts fewer days makes sense. I worked 5 days a week 6 hours a day once and it was almost as bad as a 40 hour week since I still had the commute, the alarm clock, the getting ready every day, all of which sucks time and adds stress.

by Anonymousreply 6August 13, 2022 7:04 PM

I agree with r6, I don't care about how many hours, I want less days.

by Anonymousreply 7August 13, 2022 7:19 PM

R4, OP: Don’t blame labor organizers. They used to work 60-80 hour weeks and brought it DOWN to 40. Now it’s our turn to improve on that.

by Anonymousreply 8August 13, 2022 7:30 PM

I agree with Rescue Chick and everyone else. The 5 day work week is an archaic concept from well before the technological revolution. It's inhumane. We get things done much faster now with technology so at least a day or two could be knocked off the work week. And many C-Suite executives don't work as much as they claim. They are off banging some chick (or guy), playing golf/raquetball/tennis, checking out real estate or getting "lite" cosmetic procedures.

by Anonymousreply 9August 13, 2022 7:34 PM

R9 here again. It's also a scam and bad for the environment.

by Anonymousreply 10August 13, 2022 7:39 PM

It will take an enormous effort to make such a universal change to the standard work week. There are countless stories of resistance to heading back to the office as the pandemic continues to decline, even to a hybrid work schedule. Most employees agree that working from home full time is much more productive and efficient (I realize that doesn't apply to all jobs or professions) but the C-Suite egos won't have it. Working from home diminishes their level of power, authority, and privilege.

If we can't even agree on that, I can't see a rollback to fewer than five days as the norm anytime soon. Its sucks, because it's absolutely the right direction to go, but ego and power will put up roadblocks every step of the way.

by Anonymousreply 11August 13, 2022 8:09 PM

The entire world should go on four-day work-week, 32 hours max. Five days is too much.

by Anonymousreply 12August 13, 2022 8:18 PM

i’m fine with it. i got paid by the hour.

by Anonymousreply 13August 13, 2022 8:29 PM

My HR person (whom I generally distrust and occasionally dislike) actually suggested that I consider a 4 day work week for portions of the year to use up PTO. because I generally distrust her I poo-poo'ed her but may consider it. I don't know. It took me by surprise.

by Anonymousreply 14August 13, 2022 10:00 PM

The world has changed since the 5-day work week was established. There are too many damn people so even weekends are a challenge to get errands done, etc. Parks and places of recreation are overcrowded, unlike in the 1920's through the 1960's. It just makes sense. If CEOs want people back in the office they might try offering a shorter week as a compromise.

by Anonymousreply 15August 13, 2022 10:05 PM

I am definitely not going back to the office.

by Anonymousreply 16August 13, 2022 10:12 PM

OP, as proven at R4, is lazy and ignorant. You really want a 16 hour work week? And, you should actually study labor history if you're going to comment on it.

Moving to a four day work week would seem to be a doable idea. Either 8 or 10 hour days. Not only would it be good for people and their work/life balance but it would be good for the environment especially if it's combined with more work-from-home.

And then, guaranteed basic income. It's where the world is headed and the world will be better off once that is implemented. It will change all of humanity for the better over the next century.

by Anonymousreply 17August 13, 2022 10:33 PM

You know, if these companies would let people work 4 days a week for 10 hours, so some people worked Monday thru Thursday and others worked Tuesday to Friday, hours from 8 AM until 6 PM, they would stay open longer hours with happier employees.

by Anonymousreply 18August 13, 2022 10:38 PM

Ugh. I can't do 10-hour days anymore.

by Anonymousreply 19August 13, 2022 10:41 PM

Eh, once you're there, there's not really much difference between 8 and 10 hours, especially if you only have to do it for four days and get a three day weekend every week.

by Anonymousreply 20August 13, 2022 10:46 PM

[quote]It's too many hours. We should work two eight hour days and have five off instead.

And that's how you go from being a dominant world power that everyone had to take into consideration to being France in less than two generations...

by Anonymousreply 21August 13, 2022 10:50 PM

[quote]I think the people who fought for [bold]labour[/bold].... —OP

OP, just curious - where are you from?

by Anonymousreply 22August 13, 2022 10:55 PM

OP, I'm sure you are a professor in LABOUR and have studied this for many years. So my first question is... how did you come up with this exact number? I would like to read your research on the subject, can you provide a link.

Thank you.

by Anonymousreply 23August 13, 2022 11:00 PM

OP is French.

by Anonymousreply 24August 13, 2022 11:05 PM

The resistance to “allow” people to work from home that we’re currently seeing won’t win: Labour shortages will force employers to offer genuine flexibility, in particular when it comes to wfh/work from anywhere.

There’s an entire lobby of office landlords, restaurant chains and public transport bodies fighting the new ways of working tooth and nail — but I predict it will all be in vain.

People have come to realise that money isn’t the end to all. Time is the only commodity that can’t be earned back, can’t be replaced. And that’s what the smart employers are offering: More time for yourself, more flexibility to work from anywhere.

The autocratic CEOs WILL fall in line, it’s just a matter of time.

by Anonymousreply 25August 15, 2022 8:46 AM

It's the Calvinist work ethic. The more wealth you have, the more proof that you are one of the predestined. Europe was never like this before the 17th century.

by Anonymousreply 26August 15, 2022 9:15 AM

If you work less hours how can all those billionaires make even more money? You know they need another private jet, a few more houses and another race horse.

by Anonymousreply 27August 15, 2022 9:56 AM

A survey of European countries where programs are in place or on trial for compressing the obligations and pay of a 5-day/40-hour week into a 4-day/32-hour week.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 28August 15, 2022 10:31 AM

Careful with those studies, R28:

[quote] Germany is home to one of the shortest average working weeks in Europe. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the average working week is 34.2 hours.

And yet, of the 30+ people I know very well, only one of them works 32h (4 days) and she's a mum. All the others, both men and women: 40h.

Now, my small bubble does not reflect the entire workforce; and it may well be that I somehow surround myself with full-time working people (yuck!) but apart from government and semi-government (e.g Deutsche Bahn) employers, I find it hard to believe that so many people would be working part-time.

by Anonymousreply 29August 15, 2022 11:24 AM

[quote]Why a 40 hour work week?

Translation: I want money, but don't want to work.

by Anonymousreply 30August 15, 2022 12:43 PM

Where is the guaranteed basic income going to come from??

by Anonymousreply 31August 15, 2022 2:55 PM

Look. There is a shit ton of commercial real estate that would be vacant and empty if everyone works from home. There already is a problem with this. Millions upon millions of SF that would have to be repurposed. And right now companies like Google are actually building more officespace.It makes nosense.

by Anonymousreply 32August 15, 2022 3:49 PM

Commercial real estate is a scam, or, at least it is in my area. Well before COVID, developers were throwing up buildings for which they either did not secure tenants or did not ensure full tenancy. A lot of those properties are still sitting unused or not completely filled. The developers and the cities (and city administrators) that profit from this arrangement just want to keep the gravy train rolling, everyone else be damned. Meanwhile, we have a terrible housing crisis. We could re-purpose commercial property into residential space. People crow about the cost of repurposing such spaces, but it seems a better solution than dragging people back to offices.

by Anonymousreply 33August 15, 2022 4:01 PM

In my small DC-adjacent city former office building and city properties are being redeveloped into condos and luxury apartments at a brisk pace. These units are just as quickly snapped up by buyers and renters. I am not exactly thrilled at the ever-increasing density but it’s progress and it can be done if the locale is desirable.

by Anonymousreply 34August 15, 2022 4:01 PM

R34 again If the locale is not as desirable developers need to be more creative. They can create affordable housing, homeless housing, recreation facilities, artist co-op spaces, etc.

by Anonymousreply 35August 15, 2022 4:07 PM

R9- Management might agree to this but they will also lower your salary if you’re working 25% less a week.

by Anonymousreply 36August 15, 2022 4:10 PM

If a company has a new and/or cutting-edge office space, I can understand them wanting employees in the office for the majority of the week, and maybe they will just need to find employees who appreciate that work space and are willing to work onsite (I don’t mind working onsite.) But for run-of-the-mill soul-killing work spaces employers may need to get on board with work from home or at least a hybrid schedule.

by Anonymousreply 37August 15, 2022 4:14 PM

My company is owned by a company based in Europe. The CEO of that company is currently touring our U.S. sites. The U.S. company workforce has primarily worked from home since the beginning of the pandemic and has been demonstrably productive. In fact, the past few years have been banner years due to this and other factors. U.S. company leadership is happy with the WFH structure as all of them work remotely from homes located in several different states.

All of that will change soon, however, as the foreign overlord is not happy that the offices they are visiting are mainly empty. So, reduced hours is a pipe dream since this fucker wants to push us all back in the office for 'optics'. One of our sites had mandatory attendance by all employees for that location as he was visiting that site. People from that site are starting to call in today because now they have COVID.

Do the overlords not understand that even if COVID is no longer deadly for the vaxxed, it means absences for their workforce? People are re-catching it a month later, too, and the cycle starts again.

by Anonymousreply 38August 15, 2022 4:19 PM

Another solution to get employees back in the office during this time of employment glut is to offer incentives to those who work onsite: offices, desks by windows, higher pay, better chance at promotions, more time off, etc. Sorry Scrooge and Robber Barons but your Victorian tactics will not work anymore.

by Anonymousreply 39August 15, 2022 4:20 PM

The 2-day weekend is just not cutting it anymore. I am exhausted one of the days and life’s “errands” eat up the second day. It just does not work anymore.

by Anonymousreply 40August 15, 2022 4:23 PM

When I was a kid, my grandmother had a set of pencils that were advertising "American Union Labor" which read:

"8 hours work

8 hours sleep

8 hours leisure

= 24 hours

Thank a Union member today!"

They were old, probably from the 1940s or 1950s, and I always assumed they were accurate as far the logic of the 8-hour work day.

by Anonymousreply 41August 15, 2022 4:26 PM

R41 What a quaint artifact, however the 8 hours of leisure is a lie in our modern world. Anywhere from 2 to 4 of those leisure hours is getting ready for work + commuting.

by Anonymousreply 42August 15, 2022 4:29 PM

I wonder how many hours Congress works if you apportioned their hours to the 40 hours work week? Don’t forget healthcare for life.

by Anonymousreply 43August 15, 2022 4:36 PM

Offering people a 3-day/30-hour week (or even a 4-day/32-hour week) might be the incentive good enough to bring some people "back to the office" and start to shift the pattern away from 5-days/40-hours.

Obviously, there are considerations that will vary from one workplace to another. Workers with an 8-hour day are likely more inclined to put in that extra hour or two, but at the end of a 10-hour day, they are more likely in a hurry to get home; it does alter the notion of a weekly goal when the time frame shifts from 5-days to 3- or 4-days to accomplish the same result, and it challenges management's unstated expectation of putting in time beyond 40 hours. Call centers and related businesses would need two 3-day work weeks to cover orders and help desk type enquiries, which changes the costs of maintaining a work force beyond just the number of hours collectively worked -- possibly additional carrying costs for insurance and other benefits. And there's the question of shifting an employer's obligation to treat a 30-hour or 32-hour week as the equivalent of the old 40-hour "full" work week. And whether to extend the same work week/hours system to staff who continue to work from home. Etc, etc.

Not all commercial office space lends itself to conversion to housing, especially those deep buildings that don't have window surface enough to meet building codes and the expectations of buyers and renters to not have a dark, skinny apartment with only one or two large windows at one end. Not all buildings are suited to be carved into a few very large apartments per floor, especially considering the undesirably low ceiling heights of most office space. An elegant, skinny office building with windows all around and higher than normal ceilings can be repurposed rather easily -- market differences for commercial vs. residential use notwithstanding; other buildings are so deep and have such low ceilings that it would never work, not enough windows to make it happen.

I think it's inevitable that some office towers and suburban office complexes will make the transition to housing, but it's an impossibility for many buildings without rebuilding the skeleton itself: arguably better to start again from scratch, not that we won't see tax breaks for owners of commercial properties for them to claim such losses then, phoenix like, build anew and latch onto other development incentives.

by Anonymousreply 44August 15, 2022 4:37 PM

LOL! Members of Congress may not work much but their staff does. Those poor guys are underpaid and work 12-16 hour days and weekends. It's a shit job.

by Anonymousreply 45August 15, 2022 4:52 PM

The problem with this idea is that it lives in the same macroeconomic reality as reduced consumption and higher prices, which are anathema to CEOS and policy makers.

Kellogg’s was an early leader in the testing of the shorter work day but the practice had ended by the Eighties.

by Anonymousreply 46August 15, 2022 5:32 PM

4-day work week (8 hours / day) would be the start.

I do feel the difference between a 10-hour and 8-hour work day. The quality / accuracy of my work goes down if I work long hours. So, what's the point.

by Anonymousreply 47August 15, 2022 5:42 PM

R14 - your HR rep is evil, as most of them are.

My company actually FORCED everyone to take Fridays off, using our own PTO, for EIGHT weeks during the Pandemic. This was because they were not certain what the future would hold, and if people would be leaving, or the company falling apart, due to the Pandemic, and changes all around. It really fucking sucked.

by Anonymousreply 48August 15, 2022 5:57 PM

r48, the issue is that I tend to lose PTO at fiscal year end every year and she says she's trying to get me to find a way that I am comfortable using it so that I don't lose it every year. My fear is that instead of realizing that I take the same amount of time off but do it through out the year instead of large chunks of time (if I were to take every Friday off) that someone, somewhere would wonder 'do we need her?".

by Anonymousreply 49August 15, 2022 6:04 PM

I'd just start using PTO on Fridays. If you're a drama-free employee, you're more valuable than your employer tells you.

by Anonymousreply 50August 15, 2022 6:09 PM

I see, R49. I didn't realize your PTO was use it or lose it.

by Anonymousreply 51August 15, 2022 6:31 PM

What really grinds my gears is this:

-Before the dawn of internet technology we got a lot FEWER things accomplished, and at a slower rate. The internet really sped things up, and made things MORE efficient and MORE cost-effective. But the employer overlords still expect MORE stuff to get done, and are not paying us MORE.

by Anonymousreply 52August 15, 2022 6:33 PM

I couldn't be less drama here (especially working from home, the only one to argue with is myself and my dog). I may, it's just so weird to me and the work from home stuff has made me a bit paranoid about doing anything that may make it a reason for me to have to go into the office (from their perspective).

by Anonymousreply 53August 15, 2022 6:55 PM

[quote]Translation: I want money, but don't want to work.

So like every rich asshole with stocks, a trust fund, every CEO, pretty much everybody at the top of this stupid, braindead system we've all created and decided is sacred and most never ever be questioned?

by Anonymousreply 54August 15, 2022 11:33 PM

sorry, "must" not "most."

by Anonymousreply 55August 15, 2022 11:36 PM

R30 giving off strong "get off my lawn" vibes

by Anonymousreply 56August 16, 2022 6:13 AM

[quote] the issue is that I tend to lose PTO at fiscal year end every year and she [HR] says she's trying to get me to find a way that I am comfortable using it so that I don't lose it every year. My fear is that instead of realizing that I take the same amount of time off but do it through out the year instead of large chunks of time (if I were to take every Friday off) that someone, somewhere would wonder 'do we need her?".

R49, I can't imagine not using all my available leave time. Through some odd circumstances I was able to bargain and end up with 15 weeks of floating holidays/personal days/vacation, plus 10 work holidays, plus sick days, and could also bank time on most projects and get extra leave (though there was only one year where I had occasion to do that.) Much more than all but a couple of my colleagues, and an embarrassment of riches by the most liberal measure. I used every one: days off here and there, long vacations, and four-day work weeks most every week that I wasn't on holiday.

Taking your leave time is like calling in sick: forget about the sad cough and scratchy voice, just call in and say, "Sorry for the short notice but I'm taking today as a sick day; I'll let you know if for some reason I don't expect to be back at work tomorrow." You shouldn't have to bow and scrape for what is yours. And if you told them in April that you were taking November off for travel, they can't sneak in an extra project in October and expect you to drop your plans. You get more respect for standing up for yourself and having a life away from Johnston Project than do you for bending with every change of wind.

by Anonymousreply 57August 16, 2022 9:03 AM

Hearye hearye R57

by Anonymousreply 58August 16, 2022 10:32 AM

I completely agree with you r57! I have a weird work ethic, I think it's a 'former welfare recipient and grew up on welfare' thing. I have always had issues taking my pto. I have gotten better though about it!

by Anonymousreply 59August 16, 2022 12:08 PM

My vacation time floats into the next year, so I wait to take time off for when it's a meaningful trip. I love my job at least, but when I'm off, I do not think about work, nor do I feel the temptation to check work email or anything. I make that clear to everyone in my out of office memo to leave me alone.

I think that vacation allowances are criminal in general in the US. I only get 4 weeks per year, and that's after having worked at my company at least 5 years....and my situation is better than most. I know lots of people who will only ever get two weeks per year.

by Anonymousreply 60August 16, 2022 3:01 PM

R57, sometimes people can't use up their vacation time because they have to ask permission to take their days off and it is denied. You work in a pretty little bubble. This country treats lower level workers like shit.

by Anonymousreply 61August 16, 2022 6:37 PM

No doubt, R61, that's certainly true for some.

It's also true that too many people are such big pussies that that won't ask for what was promised them; or they convince themselves that everything would go to shit in the whole multinational if they were to take more than 3 consecutive days off.

by Anonymousreply 62August 16, 2022 7:48 PM

I think the the feeling of being overworked from a 5 day/40 hour week also comes from the number of single people. I know I'd be able to handle it better if I had a housewife doing all the shopping, cleaning and taking care of appointments.

by Anonymousreply 63August 16, 2022 8:14 PM

Very good point, R62. I work with several people who are under the impression that taking PTO will cause great chaos for their workplace and their work. No, it really won't.

If you quit a job or get fired or laid off, you will be replaced or your tasks will be delegated to others in the org. Nobody is indispensable. Take your damn PTO. :)

by Anonymousreply 64August 16, 2022 8:36 PM

Some managers do not outright deny vacation but find other ways to threaten employees who take vacation, e.g. removing them from plum assignments, badmouthing them to higher-ups, etc. In ideal situations, the employee finds a better company or manager. But not everyone has that luxury. Or, they're looking but it is taking forever. It's just not always as simple as taking your alloted vacation for some folks.

God, I cannot wait to retire so I no longer have to deal with psychopathic managers.

by Anonymousreply 65August 17, 2022 3:37 PM

So you demand a shorter work week, but you will also demand that stores be fully stocked, plenty of cashiers working on your days off so you don't have to stand in long checkout lines on your extra day off. Airlines be fully staffed on your 3 day weekend for the trips you want to take. Hotels have a full staff working so they can take care of all your needs. The home improvement store be open and staffed for your long weekend project. Anyone see the problem here?

by Anonymousreply 66August 17, 2022 5:02 PM

Genius at R66 doesn't even understand that there are work shifts. Not everyone will be working the same four days and if it's switched to four ten-hour work days, there won't even be any gaps to fill with additional workers. Which, of course, is another benefit of this because it will create more jobs and force employers to treat workers better overall due to the increased number of jobs. What they used to be able to wring out of 40-45 hours in one employee will now have to be split between two employees.

After that, we can get unions going again and the employers can start making up for the worker abuse of the last four decades ever since Reagan started the 'fuck the unions' mindset they've all worked under since his criminal ass was elected.

by Anonymousreply 67August 17, 2022 6:25 PM

Yep! Shifts, people, shorter shifts. Minimum wage jobs should be offering shorter shifts to entice teens and young adults. 8 hours shifts serving fast food or working retail guarantees rapid burn out and high employee turn over.

by Anonymousreply 68August 17, 2022 7:07 PM

Another new twist to PTO - some companies are now offering "Unlimited PTO" in order to draw in recruits. This is absolutely evil, because when you get hired, just try taking any PTO at all. It is ALL frowned upon as at your indulgence, since the company already gave you the unlimited status. You will always be judged for taking any time off.

I prefer having specific time off, because I'm legally allowed to take this time, and it doesn't come with a stigma.

by Anonymousreply 69August 17, 2022 7:08 PM

Genius at R67 doesn't even understand that if people work half the time for the same amount of money they get for 40 hours per week now, the inflation we have now will seem like the good ole days.

Yes I understand shift work but more time off means the need for more employees, a concept you don't seem to understand. Companies are begging for people to come work for them now and paying record wages and can't even come close to filling all the openings they have. Giving people another day off will increase their labor cost by 20%. Giving people what OP wants will increase their labor costs 60% which they will pass on to the consumer.

I would just love for people to have all the time off work they could but it won't be free, someone is going to have to pay for the cost of that time off. People are screaming about inflation now, this inflation is nothing compared to what it would be. Plus you aren't going to find enough people to replace the people taking the extra time off.

by Anonymousreply 70August 18, 2022 12:57 AM

[quote]Giving people another day off will increase their labor cost by 20%.

You missed the part if the trading a 40-hour week for a 32-hour week where employers provide the same but but for accomplishing the same work in the lesser time

We must do more with less!

We must do more with less!

We must do more with less!

Have you been sleeping while the corporate mantra has been chanted? For how many years now?

Would it be a crime for workers to accrue a real and lasting benefit, not a fleeting one time 2.1172% bonus (after three years of record profits, during Covid even)? Or should we worry more about a "one time only" 2.1% increased labor cost on top of salaries for a company that has enjoyed double digit growth for each of the last 5 years?

by Anonymousreply 71August 18, 2022 8:51 AM

R71, it's pretty clear that that poster is the most worried about those businesses making more and more profit and the employees can just go fuck themselves if they don't like it.

by Anonymousreply 72August 18, 2022 9:00 AM

Working 2 days a week is just plain dumb.

If you add up all of the congressional districts that would be in the U.S. House (Pelosi's place) you would end up with 443 (including the US territories).

Only working 2 days is 40% of the 5 day work week so you would have to divide the 443 by 5 = 88.6 (it would be Monday's income for the US) & double for Tuesday which would be 177 US districts worth of income. That would mean that the entire US pop. of about 330 million would have to live on Calif. (53 districts), Texas, (32), NY (29), FL (27), OH (16) Mich. (14) & SC (6) money. Everything would crash by 60%. & homelessness, hunger, disease, crime, etc. would all skyrocket.

More folks need to be working around the world including those who are 65-80. US Social Security when it was enacted gave folks about 1 year after retirement & then they were in the grave. None of this living 15 years at the expense of the younger generation (which when they graduate US high school, keep getting a bigger debt passed on to them by vulture generations).

by Anonymousreply 73August 18, 2022 9:25 AM

I might be wrong, but I think typical work week for nurses is 3 shifts at 12 hours per week. So very long days but only 3 days a week. Of course, because of that profession, the concept of a weekend or holiday is irrelevant since people get sick or hurt 24/7. So most of them never see a weekend off as a typical thing. It's more a of a chance in scheduling that week.

by Anonymousreply 74August 18, 2022 9:46 AM

You know what else is missing is Part-Time shifts. It used to be very common asking someone if they worked full-time or part-time. Part-time still got all the benefits as full-time. Now it's almost a rare designation. Part-time seemed to have morphed into "Freelancer" 1099 worker or Gig Worker with no benefits at all.

Boomer company greed at work. You are not considered part of the company unless you are designated full-time. You are not a real team member. You are an insignificant assistant.

by Anonymousreply 75August 18, 2022 9:56 AM

[quote] [R71], it's pretty clear that that poster is the most worried about those businesses making more and more profit and the employees can just go fuck themselves if they don't like it.

R72 You couldn't be more wrong you know nothing about me except what I posted above but you are entitled to your wrong opinion. I am just a realist and you aren't going to get employers to just suddenly give all their employees 20% more time off, especially during a period where employers can't find employees for many positions they have open now. Union membership is in decline and unions are what gave us the 40 hour work week, and unions are probably the only thing that will ever get us a shorter than 40 hour work week and corporations will fight that with every thing they have.

[quote] You missed the part if the trading a 40-hour week for a 32-hour week where employers provide the same but but for accomplishing the same work in the lesser time

R71 There are many jobs in this economy that must be staffed at all times a business is open, Jobs such as police, firefighters, nurse, store clerks, hotel front desk, restaurant servers the list could go on and on, working harder won't end the need for those jobs to be staffed while people take time off. Just because you work a job where apparently you goof off at least 20% of the time doesn't mean everyone does. Giving people more time off certainly doesn't promise that employees will do 20% more work when they are there and you know it. Knock Knock Knock reality misses you come back.

by Anonymousreply 76August 18, 2022 2:12 PM

[quote] Just because you work a job where apparently you goof off at least 20% of the time doesn't mean everyone does.

Ah, that's it, why trouble to hide your cunting ways when you can bring them to the fore, R76.

Find the exceptions and use them to invalidate an idea that could be applied to many and easily. Some surgeons have to sometimes ignore hours of labor laws, maybe you would like to use that exception to drive your slaves harder? You know, provide a positive model.

by Anonymousreply 77August 18, 2022 2:26 PM

"Do More With Less" is exactly what my Chinese CEO shouted at all of us in a company meeting several years ago.

This was after he had been corrected by HR when he had first said "Do Less With More"...

This guy ended up getting fired.

by Anonymousreply 78August 18, 2022 3:25 PM

[quote] I think the the feeling of being overworked from a 5 day/40 hour week also comes from the number of single people. I know I'd be able to handle it better if I had a housewife doing all the shopping, cleaning and taking care of appointments.

Nobody, nowadays, has a housewife or a househusband. However, I get your point. I feel like I'm my own husband (working) and my own wife (taking care of the household stuff).

If I were partnered-up, there would, at least, be economies of scale at work. E.g., throw my stuff into that load of laundry you're doing. The person cooking just needs to cook one more portion. Etc.

by Anonymousreply 79August 18, 2022 3:30 PM

R79 you are dead wrong. There are many housewives and househusbands out there, and many of them are young.

by Anonymousreply 80August 18, 2022 3:57 PM

Yep, many house husbands, in fact I would say more than ever before.

by Anonymousreply 81August 19, 2022 8:03 AM

My sister and sisters-in-law are all stay at home moms, as childcare would take 3/4 of their pay.

by Anonymousreply 82August 19, 2022 8:27 AM
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