It’s no secret that our work weeks are too long.
Garfield reminds us how much we hate Mondays.
Rebecca Black reminds us of the importance of getting down on Fridays.
So why don’t we try changing our work week?
Instead of working five days a week, why don’t we try a four day work week?
We’ve done it before, we can do it again. The system of a five-day work week, was in itself a revolution by our unions.
Previously, we had a six-day work week, where Sunday was the only day of rest.
But at the start of the 20th century, unions across the world worked to reduce our work weeks from six days to five days.
At the time, it was hoped that further reductions in working hours would follow.
The economists of the past knew that more hours didn’t necessarily equal and more productive or prosperous economy.
A society in which people have flexibility over their work, more free time and are treated like humans by their workplaces is a successful and happy society.
That isn’t the society we live in today though.
Instead, we have businesses pushing to pay their workers less, for more work.
Pushing to abolish casualise their workforce, for more overtime, for less penalty rates.
The results of this are, astronomical wealth inequality and the industries that are running hot are also fuelling the climate crisis.
All because we’ve been measuring the success of our economy in entirely the wrong way.
So let’s change that.
Rather than pushing people on what they can offer businesses, let’s push businesses on what they can offer people.
A four-day work week has already been trialled in many parts of the world including the UK, New Zealand, and even one in the ACT.
It’s a no-brainer.
Less hours, same pay.
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