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The thing is, even before covid, UK productivity was pretty bad. So trying something to improve it, with huge benefits for everyone's lifestyle and the planet is worth a shot, no?
If you`re speaking about CMG Technologies and Technovent then they don`t.
Anyway. I`m sure you can guess my stance on this subject. If every working adult has the choice to work a 4 day week for the same money then you can count me in but you and i know it will never happen.
My father in law works 4 on 4 off already, as do all his colleagues. He was part of the office staff assessing/training drivers but has got fed up and is back to driving. Anyway seems to be that he used to have to stay to office hours before but now gets home early as they often can't send him out again once he's back at the depot. Anyway my point was going to be that he likes the shift pattern and having more days off, the 4 days are longer in theory but traffic permitting he can come home an hour or two earlier than if he was in the office. So it can work for non-office based jobs too.
There will always be a 2 day weekend would be my guess, so in order to keep offices, factories, building sites etc open 5 days not everyone would be able to take the same day off. So I don't see why it couldn't be workable. There's always going to be different working patterns in some sectors as they have different demands, so hospitalities, logistics and retail have to work weekends when many others don't for example. But that shouldn't restrict improving things for other workers.
It's not that though, is it? It'd be a step further down the road to creating a two-tier society, with office staff and particularly the public funded civil service having more time off, while us manual workers keep plugging our life away. I'm with Sharpy - I'm all for a four day working week, in fact circumstance recently has made me drop to 4 days and I've been happy with that, but the economics don't work. So bring in the 4 day working week, but make it financially available for all. The labour party needs to stop seeing the world through it's cosmopolitan prism
I don't get this attitude that if X or Y can't have it, then neither can Z even if it's a good thing for Z and is no skin off the nose for X or Y.
Everyone benefits from a shorter week by the way, even if they themselves don't have it. More relaxed teachers, and less tired surgeons can only be a good thing.
It's also not Labour policy anymore, so let's not bring those scabs into it!
I don't get this attitude that if X or Y can't have it, then neither can Z even if it's a good thing for Z and is no skin off the nose for X or Y.
Everyone benefits from a shorter week by the way, even if they themselves don't have it. More relaxed teachers, and less tired surgeons can only be a good thing.
It's also not Labour policy anymore, so let's not bring those scabs into it!
I'm calling for parity, an opportunity for all to have the same benefits. Care workers can't get their 5 days of work done in 4, and they bloody need and deserve a rest. It would be great if more could be recruited to work a 4 day week and get paid for 5, and improving t's and c's would certainly aid recruitment, but it would also, of course, mean an increase in costs. Who pays? I'm sure we'd agree there are savings in government spending to be made, and we should go after the rich/corporations that avoid tax etc, but is that really going to happen?
I worked for a bloke whose business wins awards as a great place to work, funky trips to Iceland etc etc etc, these benefits didn't extend to the office cleaners or staff employed by his company to clean up his dog shit!!
At the moment, cynical me can only see further reinforcement of the 2 tier society we already have.
My old company, where practical, allowed people to work 1.5 hours longer on four days, have the fifth off and lose something like 5% of your salary. I didn't have a kid at the time, but for the people that did, they loved having a day doing what they wanted - cycling, golf, doing creative stuff, domestic/admin stuff - and then having the weekend totally free for their families. People who had to leave home early anyway, so didn't see their kids in the morning, just left an hour earlier and then worked through half of their lunch (which we often did anyway).
Most of my Dutch friends and their partners work a four day week - even the ones without kids. Probably says a lot for how much people benefit mentally from working a four day week, that I've yet to meet anyone who's voluntarily gone back to working five days, even when finances are tight.
I'm surprised about that, I'm lucky that I get to see my kids every morning and evening today, but that would be much tougher if I had to do 4x9.5 hours instead of 5x8
Everyone has different circumstances I guess. I love the idea of a 4 day week for society in general and i'd happily take a (small!) paycut to have that, but not everyone has that option. In some cases im sure it's true but for the majority of people I find it hard to believe that productivity would increase 25% if they worked a 4 day week. A lot of companies would cut their arm off for even a 10% productivity increase.
More likely you'd see a small increase in productivity, but then companies would expect you to work "extra" hours to finish your allotted tasks, then use the 4 day week as a reason for paying you less.
Would love it to happen, but I think we are too cynical/capitalistic as a society.
I was told by a colleague that the large US Tech company I work for are considering bringing this in from August and will be 9-5.30 Mon-Thurs. Those on shift would be 4 days on 4 days off. Apparently same salary but there may be a reduction in paid holidays of 5 days from current 25!
I'm calling for parity, an opportunity for all to have the same benefits. Care workers can't get their 5 days of work done in 4, and they bloody need and deserve a rest. It would be great if more could be recruited to work a 4 day week and get paid for 5, and improving t's and c's would certainly aid recruitment, but it would also, of course, mean an increase in costs. Who pays? I'm sure we'd agree there are savings in government spending to be made, and we should go after the rich/corporations that avoid tax etc, but is that really going to happen?
I worked for a bloke whose business wins awards as a great place to work, funky trips to Iceland etc etc etc, these benefits didn't extend to the office cleaners or staff employed by his company to clean up his dog shit!!
At the moment, cynical me can only see further reinforcement of the 2 tier society we already have.
P.s - Starmer's labour have policies now?!
[Post edited 20 Jan 2022 18:29]
As much as I have sympathy for care workers, I think it a failure of personality to resent someone on the same pay but based in an office getting an extra day off.
If disparity is the main concern, Care workers should worry about the staffing levels and low pay, not the working hours of others. Resenting a £18k pa admin for having a extra day off won’t feed their kids or pay their bills. Taking industrial action on their £billion employers might though.
Theres not enough days in the week as it is.! Three day weekend?. No thanks. My missus would just rope me in to fixing something or out buying something..lol
Seriously though, this 4 day week thing just wouldnt work in the construction industry. Too many self employed for starters, plus deadlines will go even more over schedule. I cant see clients wanting to wait for their house extension , kitchen fitted etc any longer than they already do. I cant speak for office bods though, or those WFH dudes. I just know im productive 5 days a week.(when im not drilling through water pipes!)
As much as I have sympathy for care workers, I think it a failure of personality to resent someone on the same pay but based in an office getting an extra day off.
If disparity is the main concern, Care workers should worry about the staffing levels and low pay, not the working hours of others. Resenting a £18k pa admin for having a extra day off won’t feed their kids or pay their bills. Taking industrial action on their £billion employers might though.
Punch up not sideways.
We talk about parity in health care etc. A 4 day week is better for your mental health, and doing a demanding physical job, my body could do with more rest as I get older. So, surely this should be made available to all.
BTW, I read your last post out to my care worker wife. She had, as I think you might put it, a severe failure of personality!!
Edit - hard to strike when you're in the gig economy and care for your clients.
We talk about parity in health care etc. A 4 day week is better for your mental health, and doing a demanding physical job, my body could do with more rest as I get older. So, surely this should be made available to all.
BTW, I read your last post out to my care worker wife. She had, as I think you might put it, a severe failure of personality!!
Edit - hard to strike when you're in the gig economy and care for your clients.
[Post edited 20 Jan 2022 21:28]
Well, despite that, I hope your wife gets a four day week or equivalent along with anyone else, even if I don’t.
For those against a 4 day, you know the sort of people who claim they care about productivity but then ignore all the data that supports a 4 day week as being more efficient because it does not fit their draconian woke management style of slave whipping, think about this ...
If you really do think people are skiving off in their 5 day week or WFH already and this would just make that worse, then this 4 day week is a great way to expose them.
Offer them a 4 day week (their choice to accept it) and when they take it monitor productivity and if it goes down below the 5 day week (regardless if they were skiving off or not) fire'em ... simples.
If you are wrong and it does work, the worst that happens is that you make it much harder for those whinging right-wing middle yes-men (I am one of these) or bosses of other companies to recruit your staff.
Or you can watch as your staff leave (and it will be the ones you don't want to leave) for those companies that do offer a 4 day week, leaving you with skiving wastes of space as your new top-talented employees. Setting the trend for all future employees as you enter a company death spiral.
It's your choice, step up and be a real leader or move out the way for those who want to do a proper job. Stop skiving on leadership you wastes of management space (overhead).
Otherwise, someone may force you onto a 4 day week :P
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