'Trial of four-day working week an ‘unmitigated success’ for employees’ health'

Water John

Not within the next 20 years

'British people work some of the longest hours in Europe, but are among the least productive. Now some companies are shortening the working week to increase efficiency, health and happiness'

Update on some adopters:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/nov/05/firms-switched-four-day-week-increase-efficiency-health-happiness

Guy:Incognito

Water John wrote: »

'British people work some of the longest hours in Europe, but are among the least productive. Now some companies are shortening the working week to increase efficiency, health and happiness'

Update on some adopters:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/nov/05/firms-switched-four-day-week-increase-efficiency-health-happiness

So the trick is for everyone to be lazy ****ers for a while till employers go "well we're taking a stand now,. If youre not going to work properly we're going to let you come in less"

Genius.

Not within the next 20 years

Very interesting experiment in this firm in Australia:The Australian company that banned work on Wednesday

To be honest it's mildly annoying that the 3rd day off a week is Wednesday- I was thinking it would be great to have a 3-day weekend. However, there seems to be much more sense in that article making Wednesday the 3rd day as productivity increased and stress decreased - the "Monday feeling" of greater productivity came twice a week now. I can easily imagine many people feeling aggrieved after a while that they cannot swap the Wednesday for a Friday or Monday so they can make a long weekend of it.

Interestingly, while the article says evidence is building in favour of a 4-day week it notes that in some sectors it doesn't work:

However, not all reduced hour trials have proven unmitigated successes. An experiment with six-hour days at state-run nursing homes in Gothenburg, Sweden, found that while sick day and productivity rates improved, staff costs rose considerably as more people needed to be hired to fill in the gaps.

Is there any EU-wide position or consensus yet on moving towards a 4-day week? Does any country look like it will become the first to have a 4-day working week as normal?

The Rape of Lucretia

Deleted User wrote: »

Is there any EU-wide position or consensus yet on moving towards a 4-day week? Does any country look like it will become the first to have a 4-day working week as normal?

Its a push from the elite to further increase their advantage over the weaker and lower paid in society. White colour workers, with imprecisely monitored productivity, can claim they feel better, prefer it, and even that they are producing no less. But those in manual work, factories, retail or service counters, call centres, cannot but reduce their productivity if they were to work fewer hours. The consequence would be that the earn less, or do not reduce their hours. While their managers, administrators, etc, get an extra day off. Nice for some.

Thelonious Monk

Most people could work a lot less hours, even those on front line public services if we employed more people for them. I think we would have to slow the economy down a little though, and slow everything down really. Shops open less, take aways open less, that kind of thing, if we wanted it across the board. I have a feeling low paid people would still be working long hours and working all the time.
Would people gladly go back to nothing being open on Sundays for example? Wouldn't bother me. We're too obsessed with business and making money. Free time and family etc are more important. Life is too short.