Donate SIGN UP

Working Week

Avatar Image
China Doll | 13:37 Mon 15th Oct 2007 | Society & Culture
20 Answers
Afternoon All,

Would it be really damaging to the economy and the country if we went to a four day working week with a three day weekend?

Believe it or not this is a genuine question!

Cheers
China
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 20 of 20rss feed

Best Answer

No best answer has yet been selected by China Doll. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.

For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
No, not if your hours and your production increased in those four days to what they would be had you worked five days.

i.e nothing would change.

I'm all for it.
Depends on what the other economies are doing. How would we compete???
The working week in agricultural Britain and then Industrialised Britain was originally a 6/7 day week was it not? So it got reduced without the end of the world

Where did the concept of 7 days come from bye the way, surely not the bible, because are not half of the days named after Norse Gods such as Thor's day and Frier day

Personally I would prefer a 5 day week and a 3 day weekend. I know its my fault because no one makes me but I have to work considerably over my working hours, for free to just keep up. 4 days is just not enough but I would like more time off
Trouble is, Friday is notorious for being a virtually non-productive day in many industries. If the working week were cut, then I can see Thursday turning into a non-productive day.

Also, we expect things to function at weekends these days. How would this affect the pay of retail workers, emergencyh services, etc. Would they get paid overtime for all the extra work. How would this affect the economy.

And how about Doctors - would be be subjected to only four days of their services!!!
-- answer removed --
-- answer removed --
Sweden spend 70.1% at work and 29.9% at leisure (non-productive). In the United Kingdom these are 84.5% and 15.5% respectively. Sweden has the highest total tax revenue as percentage of GDP of any other ranked country. It is also the only country in the world with a total tax revenue higher than 50 % of GDP.

If the working week were to lose 8 hours (one day) then people would earn less as there productivity time has reduced, thus with less income their buying power (and saving power) is also reduced. When salaries are reduced, then so are the treasury coffers and state services.

Socialist France introduced a 35 hour working week. The 35-hour week came into effect in 1997, as the Socialists' big idea for reducing unemployment. Unemployment fell until 2000, while the economy boomed, but then rose again, to just under 10 per cent. In recent years, the introduction of this was seen as a disaster which had lumbered the state with �10 billion a year in additional social charges and that it had demoralised millions of workers as many wanted to work an extra day and thus earn more.

Employers despised the plan, as they were forced to keep salaries at the same level while getting less work from their employees. But employees, enjoyed the extra time off allowed by their shorter working week. Working mothers were especially pleased, as it allowed them to see their children.

But with France's economy sputtering, smaller businesses in particular struggled. And the system was attacked as yet another regulatory burden on those wanting to pull themselves up the economic ladder. Hospitals and other essential services complained that the 35-hour week had left them with severe staff shortages.
Question Author
That's a 'yes' isn't it Octavius?

Sigh... well anyone have any bright ideas as to how I can shortern my working hours but keep my salary?!
Just get yourself a very rich sugar daddy China (or better still a very rich toy boy!!)
Question Author
Ewww.... No thanks.

I choose life!
Well you could find a job with 52 days holiday per annum. Then you could take one day off a week � but that would mean the annual Ibizafest would have to be dropped. Or find yourself a premiership footballer and become a WAG, then you need not work at all or maybe just flash your thrupnies every few weeks for a bit of bunce from those papers that like to show pictures of girls who flash their thrupnies.

Or an even wilder suggestion, just become briefly famous and marry someone remotely famous, then leave them and make a living out of creating random fabricated storylines every few weeks to get whole issues dedicated to you in Heat et al. Works for Kerry Katona. God I hate her.
Question Author
Ibitzafest? That sounds like something I'd want to miss.

I think my IQ might get in the way of me being a WAG... I can't seem to learn the necessities of dying my skin orange, getting fake nails and the names of the latest designers. I tried but I failed.

Kerry Katonia is stealing oxygen.
Well you could get a nice divorce settlement from your very rich sugar daddy/toyboy (as per Heather McC) and then you could have the life you choose.

Kerry Katona, yuk.

I must admit I share your opinion of WAGS.
Question Author
That's a good point. I wonder if I'm mercenary enough to be a gold digger? I could give it a go I suppose.

What? You mean you think I'm not bright enough to learn the essentials of being a WAG too? Thanks a lot Lofty!
Ooops. Sorry China!!
I work a full week, but only four days as my days (nights, really) are longer. The economy seems to cope ok.
Question Author
I just don't think the work/life balance is right in this country.

But I'm not sure how you'd go about fixing it.
You are obviously not in the right sector jno. I find that if I post too much on Answerbank during my working week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes a statement and people call for his resignation.
it's true, I've been posting in my working hours this week and Alistair Darling got his taper relief provisions in a twist... but I don't think that was my fault. Not really.
I'm pretty lucky.

I went away on maternity leave for 6 months and managed to persuade my employer to have me back for 4 days a week instead of 5 - and he agreed! I felt cheeky asking but he was great about it.

Fridays were always quiet, and we finished at 2pm anyway so there wasn't much point in me being there. However I do take work calls sometimes on a Friday and do work on rare occasions if they are struggling (always from home, mind you) - I think it's only fair after my boss was so generous.

1 to 20 of 20rss feed

Do you know the answer?

Working Week

Answer Question >>