> But Sir Christopher said: “Effectively what he is saying [is] that everybody who is working more than 32 hours a week would be prevented from doing so in the future under the provisions of his bill.
> “If ever one could think of a hand grenade being thrown into the economy, that is probably a really good example of it.”
So that’s that, then.
Reality is that a lot of people doing “full time” office jobs are just padding most of their day with non productive nonsense and tasks to make them seem busy. A lot are already only doing 4 days (or less) of actual work.
How would they legislate it? An employment contract is just between the employee and the employer.
How would the government just rewrite the employment contracts of every full time worker?
Strongly disagree with this one, although it would be nice.
The UK is facing an inflation crisis. This policy either massively increases wages by 20% or reduces the amount of work done by 20%. Either way it’s inflationary and would see the same problems as Liz Truss’ ideological tax cuts.
Maybe when the UK is in better shape this could work, but we are facing a risk of being absolutely destroyed economically so doing anything inflationary is a bad idea right now.
When I started working 20 years ago most jobs were 9-5, 35 hour weeks. Now it’s seen as a radical proposal that people only work 32 hours a week, rather than ask why has a normal job increased their hours by 1/7 when wages have been stagnant?
i would love to only have to work 4 days a week, but i cannot see that ever happening in the construction game
I’m convinced these are just popularity talking points. Anyone with a brain can see that 80%, maybe more, will never get this opportunity. It just doesn’t work in most jobs
Ready for the downvotes too, from children that can’t see how a 20% pay rise just won’t work for lots of industries
Pretty much anyone in construction, hospitality and probably the NHS, this won’t work.
Stop throwing a paddy because you won’t get more for doing less. For those where it does work, congratulations, I’m jealous and might even look into retraining. For those that it won’t, I’m sorry you’re upset.
My issue isn’t with the idea, it’s the way it’s pushed as a popularity booster. Because saying “you’ll get paid the same to do less” is always going to win favour, whether it’s practical or not, and they know it’s not
I’m a little sceptical about this. As a worker I would love a 4 day week but I’m also seeing the rise of automation providers and businesses looking to automate tasks and entire job roles.
Seems like if a role can be performed in less days or without being busy it’s an automation candidate.
It would certainly help with the rolling power it’s we might be seeing this winter if not all office workers were at minimum running a monitor and PC 8 hours a day 5 days a week.
No idea how it would work where I am but I’d welcome the extra time to start my own business and sharpen my skills
So if your boss makes you do the 5th day after we switch to a 4 day week because they want us all working so they can afford their 3rd Porche of the year he has to pay us an extra day?
Can I choose my day off? I want to work Fridays and Mondays at least.
The company I work for has started a thing where they just close for an extra day every other month. No loss of leave or pay, just an extra day off every other month.
I’m convinced they are testing the waters for a full 4 day work switch, but don’t want to tell anyone to prevent hopes being dashed.
I’m certainly a lot more refreshed on the those weeks, and would be happy for it to be a more wide spread thing.
The issue with this is we are still basing the working week on peoples *time* and not *skill and knowledge*
Presenteeism is still *rife* and it needs to be stamped out. We need to move away from a culture of 9-5 and towards a culture of being remunerated on your skills and experience, how efficient you are and your professional development.
YES there are jobs that do not require that and just need somebody to do a thing for X amount of time. I’m not saying any system is perfect. It would be up to the employer to offer professional development and a progression path.
I would much rather be paid for what I can do and what I know rather than being in an office just in case something comes up.
I’m under the impression that the hours we work in the week don’t change we would just do 40 hours in 4 days. Tbh I would still prefer this.
They really seem to struggle with the idea that mindless worker drones don’t actually help the economy because you don’t bother spending money if you don’t have time to enjoy anything you’ve spent it on.
A four day week will not hurt production and will create an extra day of shopping, eating out, and activities.
The phrase “Four Day Work Week” has always confused me. Like it’s some legal thing?
Right now we don’t have a legally mandated “5-day-work week”.
Companies can go ahead and implement a one-day work week if they so choose.
No idea if it varies for other professions, but there’s 0 chance I can get done in 4 days what I currently do in 5 days (as an architect).
I don’t care if others have a 4 day week, but it shouldn’t be forced upon everyone. Ultimately I’d just get another job – perhaps tutoring / freelancing etc – to fill the 5th day that is leftover.
Can confirm, 4 day work week is the way forward. I work 4 days a week and rarely do I not get through most of what I need to. There are even days now where I am padding out the working hours.
You know if they brought 4 day working weeks in, they would tank the economy even more. Even though 4 day weeks have been tested in other countries and have been successful.
There is a big problem with this. We are at almost full employment. Let me guess, we will import loads of extra immigrants to make up the difference? And where are they supposed to live?
I’m all for a 4 day work week with no loss of earnings but I’m hourly so loosing 7 hours a week wouldn’t be ideal, and I’m not even on minimum wage.
no way is the company going to work for going to pay me those extra 7 hours
I work in hospitality and do about 11 hours work in my 8 hour day, so I’m not sure how a 4 day week would work. Sounds lovely tho
I had some experience in a company where the standard was 36 hours a week. I wasn’t employed there but training there and everyone was so awake. I went back to my 45 hours a week required by the place I worked and what struck me was how little I got done compared to working 9 hours less a week. I was doing more working less.
This is an impossibility in my role. Inbound call centre. Working one day less per week would result in zero benefit to the company. Those calls have to be answered.
YES PLEASE! It’s been proven again and again that people are likely to be more productive in a 4-day work week than they are a 5-day week. DO IT!
Does that mean the rest of it would count as overtime for the rest of people who actually do shit or do we just get screwed and let the office people off easy?
call centre worker here, busy most of the day, full shift is mostly working
What about teachers? Are schools going to 4 day weeks?
29 comments
> But Sir Christopher said: “Effectively what he is saying [is] that everybody who is working more than 32 hours a week would be prevented from doing so in the future under the provisions of his bill.
> “If ever one could think of a hand grenade being thrown into the economy, that is probably a really good example of it.”
So that’s that, then.
Reality is that a lot of people doing “full time” office jobs are just padding most of their day with non productive nonsense and tasks to make them seem busy. A lot are already only doing 4 days (or less) of actual work.
How would they legislate it? An employment contract is just between the employee and the employer.
How would the government just rewrite the employment contracts of every full time worker?
Strongly disagree with this one, although it would be nice.
The UK is facing an inflation crisis. This policy either massively increases wages by 20% or reduces the amount of work done by 20%. Either way it’s inflationary and would see the same problems as Liz Truss’ ideological tax cuts.
Maybe when the UK is in better shape this could work, but we are facing a risk of being absolutely destroyed economically so doing anything inflationary is a bad idea right now.
When I started working 20 years ago most jobs were 9-5, 35 hour weeks. Now it’s seen as a radical proposal that people only work 32 hours a week, rather than ask why has a normal job increased their hours by 1/7 when wages have been stagnant?
i would love to only have to work 4 days a week, but i cannot see that ever happening in the construction game
I’m convinced these are just popularity talking points. Anyone with a brain can see that 80%, maybe more, will never get this opportunity. It just doesn’t work in most jobs
Ready for the downvotes too, from children that can’t see how a 20% pay rise just won’t work for lots of industries
Pretty much anyone in construction, hospitality and probably the NHS, this won’t work.
Stop throwing a paddy because you won’t get more for doing less. For those where it does work, congratulations, I’m jealous and might even look into retraining. For those that it won’t, I’m sorry you’re upset.
My issue isn’t with the idea, it’s the way it’s pushed as a popularity booster. Because saying “you’ll get paid the same to do less” is always going to win favour, whether it’s practical or not, and they know it’s not
I’m a little sceptical about this. As a worker I would love a 4 day week but I’m also seeing the rise of automation providers and businesses looking to automate tasks and entire job roles.
Seems like if a role can be performed in less days or without being busy it’s an automation candidate.
It would certainly help with the rolling power it’s we might be seeing this winter if not all office workers were at minimum running a monitor and PC 8 hours a day 5 days a week.
No idea how it would work where I am but I’d welcome the extra time to start my own business and sharpen my skills
So if your boss makes you do the 5th day after we switch to a 4 day week because they want us all working so they can afford their 3rd Porche of the year he has to pay us an extra day?
Can I choose my day off? I want to work Fridays and Mondays at least.
The company I work for has started a thing where they just close for an extra day every other month. No loss of leave or pay, just an extra day off every other month.
I’m convinced they are testing the waters for a full 4 day work switch, but don’t want to tell anyone to prevent hopes being dashed.
I’m certainly a lot more refreshed on the those weeks, and would be happy for it to be a more wide spread thing.
The issue with this is we are still basing the working week on peoples *time* and not *skill and knowledge*
Presenteeism is still *rife* and it needs to be stamped out. We need to move away from a culture of 9-5 and towards a culture of being remunerated on your skills and experience, how efficient you are and your professional development.
YES there are jobs that do not require that and just need somebody to do a thing for X amount of time. I’m not saying any system is perfect. It would be up to the employer to offer professional development and a progression path.
I would much rather be paid for what I can do and what I know rather than being in an office just in case something comes up.
I’m under the impression that the hours we work in the week don’t change we would just do 40 hours in 4 days. Tbh I would still prefer this.
They really seem to struggle with the idea that mindless worker drones don’t actually help the economy because you don’t bother spending money if you don’t have time to enjoy anything you’ve spent it on.
A four day week will not hurt production and will create an extra day of shopping, eating out, and activities.
The phrase “Four Day Work Week” has always confused me. Like it’s some legal thing?
Right now we don’t have a legally mandated “5-day-work week”.
Companies can go ahead and implement a one-day work week if they so choose.
No idea if it varies for other professions, but there’s 0 chance I can get done in 4 days what I currently do in 5 days (as an architect).
I don’t care if others have a 4 day week, but it shouldn’t be forced upon everyone. Ultimately I’d just get another job – perhaps tutoring / freelancing etc – to fill the 5th day that is leftover.
Can confirm, 4 day work week is the way forward. I work 4 days a week and rarely do I not get through most of what I need to. There are even days now where I am padding out the working hours.
You know if they brought 4 day working weeks in, they would tank the economy even more. Even though 4 day weeks have been tested in other countries and have been successful.
There is a big problem with this. We are at almost full employment. Let me guess, we will import loads of extra immigrants to make up the difference? And where are they supposed to live?
I’m all for a 4 day work week with no loss of earnings but I’m hourly so loosing 7 hours a week wouldn’t be ideal, and I’m not even on minimum wage.
no way is the company going to work for going to pay me those extra 7 hours
I work in hospitality and do about 11 hours work in my 8 hour day, so I’m not sure how a 4 day week would work. Sounds lovely tho
I had some experience in a company where the standard was 36 hours a week. I wasn’t employed there but training there and everyone was so awake. I went back to my 45 hours a week required by the place I worked and what struck me was how little I got done compared to working 9 hours less a week. I was doing more working less.
This is an impossibility in my role. Inbound call centre. Working one day less per week would result in zero benefit to the company. Those calls have to be answered.
YES PLEASE! It’s been proven again and again that people are likely to be more productive in a 4-day work week than they are a 5-day week. DO IT!
Does that mean the rest of it would count as overtime for the rest of people who actually do shit or do we just get screwed and let the office people off easy?
call centre worker here, busy most of the day, full shift is mostly working
What about teachers? Are schools going to 4 day weeks?