The UK Is Moving To A Four Day Work Week And Every Other Country Should Follow Suit

Source - The four-day workweek is getting a tryout in the UK. Dozens of British companies have volunteered to take part in a pilot program offering four-day work weeks for employees.

The six-month trial will include 30 firms that have agreed to allow staff to work up to 32 hours per week without cutting their wages or benefits.

Some firms taking part in the pilot could ask employees to spread out the 32 hours over a period of five days, according to Bloomberg.

“Moving to a four-day week would be a win-win for companies,” Joe Ryle, director of the Four Day Week Campaign in the UK, told Bloomberg. “Studies have shown that productivity improves along with corresponding gains in workers’ well-being.”

Similar trials have taken place in other countries, including Spain, New Zealand, and Iceland. More are scheduled to run in Canada and Australia.

Bra-vo, Britain. Bravo. Why more countries don't follow suit is beyond me. Happy employees = happy work life = more productivity. It really is that simple. Not only that, anyone with a job will tell you that it doesn't take 40 hours a week to get their shit done. I used to work for a tech company out of Norwood, MA and in the two years I was there I did maybe nine hours of work. We would go in, sit at our desk, pretend to be busy and the second the clock struck five leave. I wasn't the only one who did it either. Thousands of employees just didn't work. No one was motivated because no one made any real money. It was a graveyard of underachieving middle management. They could've cut the work week down to one day and it wouldn't have made a difference. HAVING SAID THAT, four days seem perfect. It's long enough so that you feel like you accomplished something and short enough so that you don't jump off the vessel. And there's good news...it could be coming to the US...

The idea of a four-day work week appears to be gaining popularity in the United States.

Last month, a group of Democratic lawmakers in Congress introduced a bill that would shorten the standard work week from 40 hours to 32 hours.

If the bill becomes law, it would require employers to pay overtime to workers who exceed 32 hours per work week.

“It is past time that we put people and communities over corporations and their profits — finally prioritizing the health, wellbeing, and basic human dignity of the working class rather than their employers’ bottom line,” co-sponsor House Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington State, said. “The 32-hour work week would go a long way toward finally righting that balance.”

I think part of the reason is because COVID made companies realize how unnecessary it is to have people commute to an office when they can be just as productive at home, but that's neither here nor there. If every country cuts their work week down to four days, the world would be a much happier place. It'll never happen, but it's fun to think about. Now take it away, Dolly...

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