I think it’s time to throw out the five-day workweek. What about you?
We may all be a bunch of lemmings, workers and managers alike, following a system that has become obsolete for many working Americans. Why couldn’t there be a three-day workweek, or a seven-day workweek twice a month? You could think up any new model, go crazy!
Most U.S. employers, pubic and private, have operated in the same manner and few have thought to question it…until Utah.
The state instituted a four-day workweek for its public sector workers in 2008, and a story in the New York Times today talks about how other states and local municipalities are pondering a similar move but naysayers want to squash the ground-breaking effort.
Working parents, and employees who are looking for flexibility on the job, should rise up and support Utah’s move. Why? Because our futures depend on it.
Utah decided to go four-day in order to save money for the state and also to cut down on energy costs. But by changing the rules of the workplace game so drastically, the state’s legislators have provided a new mode of thinking for all of us.
Our society came up with the five-day workweek in the 1920s, according to Robert Whaples, an economics professor with Wake Forest University, and he’s still scratching his head over why it’s persists to this day. In an article he wrote:
The five-day work week with an eight-hour workday came to be seen as the norm over a half a century ago and it is still seen as the norm today. This development caught a lot of attentive observers by surprise — for example, John Maynard Keynes in 1930 predicted that by 2030 a fifteen hour work week would be sufficient for all but the most extreme workaholics. The stabilization of the work week at forty hours continues to defy easy explanation.
So why, after all this time, do we continue to operate under a five-day workweek mindset? We need to delve into this question with both feet. I know, it’s scary to change the status quo but the status quo ain’t working for many working stiffs.
If we want things like job-sharing, flexible work hours, and a true openness to work alternatives for working people then we have to start with the biggest target — the standard workweek.
What’s your take? Would you be happier working four days, or 15 days straight with the rest of the month off?
May 2nd, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Some businesses may be well-suited to a shorter work week. As one example, anyone who has worked in retail knows that Monday is typically the slowest day of the week, yet most retail businesses keep their doors open on Mondays because they don’t want to miss opportunities for sales. Grocers, however, would have a harder time with a shortened week. There would be issues with spoilage/loss for fresh items (e.g., breads, produce, some dairy products).In the manufacturing sector, plants will often run six or seven days a week, depending on demand.
That’s looking at a shorter week from the most literal perspective–companies closing down three days a week. I believe we all realize that is not likely to happen. So, why aren’t employers game for more employees who work shorter shifts? Well, I believe there are reasons why some employers prefer full-week full-timers, but let’s consider the other option first: working a four-day week.
What expectations go along with that four-day week? Does that expectation (4 days x 8 hours) become the new “full time” norm, or would workers be expected to work 10-hour days? Currently, with a “normal” 40-hour full time work week, employees who put in 32 hours or more are typically considered full time. Under a four day (32 hour) work week, would employees be considered full time if they work 28 hours? If the work week becomes four 10 hour days, how well would that be received by the extreme commuters (and there are many of them) who already add two or more hours to each work day getting to and from work? Those days can get pretty long.
Scheduling issues come to bear, too. If employees are expected to work only four days per week, but the company is normally open five days a week, how do you schedule people so that the business is fully staffed on all five days? It seems you’d either end up with a) too many people working on the overlap days, b) too few people working on the non-overlap days, or c) more part-time workers employed to fill the gaps between full time employee schedules.
What about wages? If the new work week is only 32 hours, but you’ve previously been working 40 hours, would you expect your wages to stay the same? I’m betting your employer wouldn’t expect that. In fact, I’m betting most employers would base wages for the 32 hour work week at 80% of the 40 hour wage. While I’m all in favor of more free time to be involved with my kids’ schools or to take care of other personal business, I’m not in a place where I can do that at the cost of one day’s wages (at my current rate). Convincing employers to pay the same for less time will be a hard sell.
What other residual effects might there be? Would working parents who switch to a four day work week keep their kids in day care for the extra day, or would they expect day care rates to reflect a four day work week, too? With work weeks being only four days long, would U.S. companies change their vacation/leave policies to reduce the number of days available (sine employees then would only need use four days to get a full week off)? How would four day work weeks impact the shipping and transportation industries? Would schools also go to a four day week (as has been proposed in some districts in my state)?
I don’t want to come across as the “doom and gloom” or “anti-progress” guy here. I just believe the issue is far more complex than simply making a change. I, for one, would be glad to have a four-day work week, but it’s not a change that can be made without considering all the interconnected factors in our present lives.
May 2nd, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Hi Eve,
Great question!
HikingStick pointed out a number of the key reasons why we hold onto the 5 day workweek but I would add that it is reinforced by an outdated financial reporting system designed for the manufacturing age of widgets and headcount that can be uniformly quantified and counted.
Companies need to find a way to account for varied fractional headcounts and the associated benefit cost allocations if they are to challenge the entrenched 5 day workweek. Right now the systems in place and market expectations. Forgive me for linking to one of my posts, but I talked about this on Fast Company in “Quarterly Earnings Kill People-based Innovation.” http://www.fastcompany.com/1680514/quarterly-earnings-kill-people-based-innovationhellipguess-what-all-innovation-is-people-bas
Also, I think it also relates back to how we define “work.” Too many of us still think of it as in-the-office-Mon through Fri–9 to 5, so we reinforce that paradigm too.
May 3rd, 2011 at 9:32 am
You’re on to something here, Eve! It would definitely be a logistical change for organizations to support a different workweek, but it could be better for all involved. Organizations save energy and people have more flexibility.
I have had my own company since 2002. And the thing that makes me stick it out is the flexibility in my schedule. I may only work 15 hours one week, and then work 60 hours the next. But I know what to expect and how to schedule my time so I can also do the things I love. Today, I’ll be coaching for a couple of hours, writing for a couple, and planning for a workshop for another few. But I’ll do them spread out over the day so I can also go for a hike, do some volunteer work, and have some fun during the day. It’s a little more unpredictable, but it’s worth it!
And to HikingStick’s point of getting paid for 32 hours vs. 40 hours, maybe we should pay people to get the job done rather than to be at a desk or station for X hours. If they can do it in less hours, good for them! In reality, isn’t that what happens anyway? Some people are more productive than others in the regular workplace, and we don’t think anything of it. Or if we do, we certainly don’t challenge the fact that the “slacker” is getting a 40-hour paycheck while the “uber-worker” is getting paid for the same 40 hours.
And to Cali’s point, yes we often think of “work” as an “in-the-office at certain times” thing. It has taken me several years to get out of that mindset–to my benefit! Maybe this next generation of workers will help us change that paradigm!
November 25th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Myself, I employ a lot of discrete tools for determination, excluding the principle tool is that I turn down to allow myself fail; Closure being not putting forth 100% effort, anyway of the outcome, interested in all I solve, and that markedly includes bodybuilding. I would like it immoral as much as necessary that I make myself go unchanging behind 10 hours at work, when I especially don’t want to mess with it, when friends are partying like shake stars on the weekend but Im not becuase sunday is leg day, and I be aware of how demanding it will ensue, and because I bear in mind what its comparable to ensue overweight and out of shape, with no person esteem.