Experiment: four day work week

[Winehole23]

The experiment was organised by Reykjavik city council and the Icelandic government, following pressure from trade unions and civil society groups.

It took place between 2015 and 2019, with over one per cent of the country's working population involved.

Employees - including those on nine-to-five contracts and non-standard shifts - had their working week cut down to 35 or 36 hours without a reduction to their pay.

The trials were across different workplaces, such as hospitals, offices and play schools, among others.

Results from the pilot saw both productivity and wellbeing improved for 2,500 workers who took part.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/four-day-work-week-trial-in-iceland-hailed-an-overwhelming-success/

[Winehole23]

on deck: Spain


Spain has announced plans to trial a four-day working week using money from the EU’s coronavirus recovery fund.


A three-year pilot project among companies interested in the idea will use €50 million (£36 million) from the fund.



The money will compensate some 200 companies as they resize their workforce or reorganise production workflows to adapt to a 32-hour working week.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/world-news/spain-to-trial-four-day-working-week-using-eus-coronavirus-recovery-fund/

[Spurtacular]

Obamacare is an experiment: Effectively rob people of quality healthcare as people work less hours too, in one job at least.

[Winehole23]

^^^ non-sequitur

[Spurtacular]

^^^ non-sequitur

Actually, it's not. Not if you think there's any applicability to America.

[Winehole23]

Actually, it's not. Not if you think there's any applicability to America."what about Obamacare?" does not relate to a four hour work week.

[Spurtacular]

"what about Obamacare?" does not relate to a four hour work week.

Okay, you go on with your four hour work weeks. My bad.

[Winehole23]

Okay, you go on with your four hour work weeks. My bad.four day work week, I meant.

4-6 hours would be an appropriate work day, imo.

[boutons_deux]

If Labor's 4-day work week doesn't make money for Capital, Capital will block 4-day work week in USA.

[Spurtacular]

four day work week, I meant.

4-6 hours would be an appropriate work day, imo.

Not in America, given that Republicrats are shaking down workers on healthcare who don't hit hours.

Sorry, you don't get it both ways, Butthole.

[Xevious]

This goes along with the idea that people working remotely during the lockdown were just as productive, if not more so, than they were before. If your quality of life improves, your productivity at work will follow suit.

This is all moot to those positions that require a physical presence 24/7.

[DMC]

US companies don't trust bottom tier customer service level employees to meet their production quotas unless they are being watched. Many companies are requiring employees to have cameras on their home workstations for those "teleconferences". Activity monitoring software like Toggl along with intrusive, constant text chatting just highlights the "we can squeeze more from these people" attitude American businesses have. As someone who's worked from home for well over a decade, I can tell you that it seems to work well if you have some autonomy. I work for myself so I can plan my day according to my workload. For those who work for corporations, being on a string makes it less so, and it would get to a point for me that I would rather just drive to an office.

There's also the problem of everyone thinking you're free to do their work, because you're not at an office where they can see you're already working on something. When you have multiple parallel pings all day that basically shadows your actual assignments, that can help create the notion that home workers aren't as productive. It's really productivity tracking that needs to evolve to take into account the different environment that work at home presents, from a work standpoint. Then you have the non-working people who think you're also not working because you're at home.
So the industry needs to adapt to work at home, develop for it, not just treat it like an anomaly that they have to find a way to deal with.

[DMC]

four day work week, I meant.

4-6 hours would be an appropriate work day, imo.

That puts the total hours at 24 hours, not the 36 mentioned in the article. Those people are doing at least 9 hours a day for 4 days.

[GAustex]

I just don't see it-in my business. In consulting engineering deadlines are tight. Competition is cut throat. Traditionally its 45 to 50 per week and more at the deadline.

The client would have to demand it but the competition would outwork you, bolster their rep and take you market share.

[Spurtacular]

I just don't see it-in my business. In consulting engineering deadlines are tight. Competition is cut throat. Traditionally its 45 to 50 per week and more at the deadline.

The client would have to demand it but the competition would outwork you, bolster their rep and take you market share.

They don't get to make those demands when artificial restrictions are in place. The question is whether society is served better overall with them. Personally, I want govt. out of it. Then the hard worker gets ahead.
What's not understood by liberals is that these restrictions are about tethering people to the plantation.

[ElNono]

US companies don't trust bottom tier customer service level employees to meet their production quotas unless they are being watched. Many companies are requiring employees to have cameras on their home workstations for those "teleconferences". Activity monitoring software like Toggl along with intrusive, constant text chatting just highlights the "we can squeeze more from these people" attitude American businesses have. As someone who's worked from home for well over a decade, I can tell you that it seems to work well if you have some autonomy. I work for myself so I can plan my day according to my workload. For those who work for corporations, being on a string makes it less so, and it would get to a point for me that I would rather just drive to an office.

There's also the problem of everyone thinking you're free to do their work, because you're not at an office where they can see you're already working on something. When you have multiple parallel pings all day that basically shadows your actual assignments, that can help create the notion that home workers aren't as productive. It's really productivity tracking that needs to evolve to take into account the different environment that work at home presents, from a work standpoint. Then you have the non-working people who think you're also not working because you're at home.
So the industry needs to adapt to work at home, develop for it, not just treat it like an anomaly that they have to find a way to deal with.

I worked for myself for about 2 decades and now I work for a corp... it really depends on both the employer and the employee, tbh... people that do a good job, at least in the field I am, do stand out. It doesn't matter where they do it.
On the other hand, some people have trouble separating work from home, and going to an office is a good way to do draw that line.

[Winehole23]

That puts the total hours at 24 hours, not the 36 mentioned in the article. Those people are doing at least 9 hours a day for 4 days.I was giving out an an opinion, not a synopsis.

[DMC]

I worked for myself for about 2 decades and now I work for a corp... it really depends on both the employer and the employee, tbh... people that do a good job, at least in the field I am, do stand out. It doesn't matter where they do it.
On the other hand, some people have trouble separating work from home, and going to an office is a good way to do draw that line.

And because many corporations don't have the resources or goal of knowing their employees well enough to decide who's who, they use blanket policy to mitigate risk. Of course I am not talking about professional jobs, but normal phone answering and scheduling/office duties. These people comprise a big portion of the workforce. Professional roles generally get more leeway. Some managers won't single out an offender, they'll instead create a policy that fucks with everyone just to corral that one person, to prevent the manager from having to grow a pair.

[RandomGuy]

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/four-day-work-week-trial-in-iceland-hailed-an-overwhelming-success/

Saw that. pretty much what I thought would happen. Ain't no reason for people to be working as much these days, IMO.

[Blake]

US companies don't trust bottom tier customer service level employees to meet their production quotas unless they are being watched. Many companies are requiring employees to have cameras on their home workstations for those "teleconferences". Activity monitoring software like Toggl along with intrusive, constant text chatting just highlights the "we can squeeze more from these people" attitude American businesses have. As someone who's worked from home for well over a decade, I can tell you that it seems to work well if you have some autonomy. I work for myself so I can plan my day according to my workload. For those who work for corporations, being on a string makes it less so, and it would get to a point for me that I would rather just drive to an office.

There's also the problem of everyone thinking you're free to do their work, because you're not at an office where they can see you're already working on something. When you have multiple parallel pings all day that basically shadows your actual assignments, that can help create the notion that home workers aren't as productive. It's really productivity tracking that needs to evolve to take into account the different environment that work at home presents, from a work standpoint. Then you have the non-working people who think you're also not working because you're at home.
So the industry needs to adapt to work at home, develop for it, not just treat it like an anomaly that they have to find a way to deal with.

Productivity tracking has been evolving even before covid. I know several people working from home that have log in time requirements where if the auto screen saver comes on the employee has to enter login credentials and then explain the downtime

Even for employees out and about, plenty of good tracking software out there to see places, time stamps, daily travel logs, etc.

[vy65]

Sounds like this is something for workers as opposed to professionals. It seems bizarre to me that any self-respecting professional would go for something like this. But if you're some low-rung HR worker and that's all you want in life, then I don't see why not.

[Winehole23]

1414390421006872577

[boutons_deux]

US Capitalism will never do anything good for it adversary Labor unless it enriches Capitalists, with any benefit to Labor being an unwanted side effect of Capitalism enriching itself.

[Winehole23]

Three day work week


Lindsey looked at his schedule and leaders next to the bottom line. “I realized, I’m asking a ton of these folks,” he says. “They’re literally working 70 hours a week, week in and week out.” To achieve the marks Lindsey was hitting, staff sacrificed vacations. They’d joke about being exhausted and needing to go home and collapse. “Honestly, I can do better,” he recalls.


Lindsey didn’t think bumping PTO or benefits was bold enough. At the least, it wasn’t anything novel. A three-day workweek, however?


Lindsey decided to create two “pods” of employees who would essentially condense their week-long schedules into three-day blocks of 13- to 14-hour shifts. He began the program in February and has appreciated 100 percent retention at the management level since. There’s 18 store leaders involved along with about 20 front-line employees.


Just recently, with the three-day workweek headlining the listing, his restaurant collected more than 420 applicants from a job opening.


There are a few reasons the program resonated, Lindsey says. For workers, it gives them a set schedule and ability to plan lives outside of work in advance. There’s also a seven-day stretch each month where somebody gets off.
https://www.qsrmagazine.com/exclusives/chick-fil-operator-finds-magic-three-day-workweek

[TDMVPDPOY]

4 day a week as long u worked 38hrs fulltime worker or fulltime rostered hours, then any hours or shifts u picked up for that week should be paid OT...thats what some of the workers at my workplace is on...OT is where the money is....then again some workplaces dont allow u to work +10hr shifts...

[Millennial_Messiah]

Three day work week

https://www.qsrmagazine.com/exclusives/chick-fil-operator-finds-magic-three-day-workweek

that's objectively not healthy for the human body

burnout, sleep cycle, general laziness on the days off. No good.

[CosmicCowboy]

If you can work remotely then your job is in danger of being outsourced. There are plenty of people in the world that will do your job for less money.

[CosmicCowboy]

I just don't see it-in my business. In consulting engineering deadlines are tight. Competition is cut throat. Traditionally its 45 to 50 per week and more at the deadline.

The client would have to demand it but the competition would outwork you, bolster their rep and take you market share.

Doesn't work for my business either. Gotta be open and ready to go. Essential businesses are essential.

[Blake]

If you can work remotely then your job is in danger of being outsourced. There are plenty of people in the world that will do your job for less money.

But can they speak English where it's intelligible? I hate dealing with companies that hire people with whom I can't understand. It sucks to be that way, but I don't have time for it. I actually hang up on them and call back if I can.

[Blake]

4 day a week as long u worked 38hrs fulltime worker or fulltime rostered hours, then any hours or shifts u picked up for that week should be paid OT...thats what some of the workers at my workplace is on...OT is where the money is....then again some workplaces dont allow u to work +10hr shifts...

Unless you work maybe for a government entity, or have a business that after years of hard work now runs itself, I don't see how anyone makes a decent living working 40 hours a week

[boutons_deux]

But can they speak English where it's intelligible? I hate dealing with companies that hire people with whom I can't understand. It sucks to be that way, but I don't have time for it. I actually hang up on them and call back if I can.

Accent and/or rhythm can make the agent unintelligible

Another problem, as serious, is shitty mics that have little or no high frequency, so the agent speaking through a pillow.

Recorded announce voice and voice menu can be clear and sharp, then get finally handed to an agent with shitty mic not in front of mouth.

[ElNono]

If you can work remotely then your job is in danger of being outsourced. There are plenty of people in the world that will do your job for less money.

You couldn’t be more wrong, but it really depends on the industry

[GAustex]

If you can work remotely then your job is in danger of being outsourced. There are plenty of people in the world that will do your job for less money.
Happening big time in transportation design engineering field
Spain is the one I am most aware of
Design build projects which tend to be sweat shoppy

[Blake]

Happening big time in transportation design engineering field
Spain is the one I am most aware of
Design build projects which tend to be sweat shoppy

Sweat shop civil engineers? Really?

[GAustex]

Design build the contractor pays the bill
Less $$ on design more for the builder
I will not work design build (well I have not and say I won’t but Everyman has a price I suppose)
I prefer design bid build public sector work
Stay away from developer work too which is similar
In theory public sector work is based on the most qualified proposers but there can be issues with that too. Let’s just say it helps if the public sector clients like the project manager or the engineering firm.
And there are many ways for engineers to endear themselves to clients.

[Winehole23]

The companies seem to like it too.

https://www.4dayweek.com/us-ireland-results

1597869963544793089

[paperboy77]

Sweat shop civil engineers? Really?

I don't doubt it whatsoever. Actually it's a pretty good idea. This is how contractors many times out-contract the contract.