Why are weeks five days long?

 

This little guy gets it. Two day weekends are not enough! Like Brodie, I would like to protest the five day week. I might want to have more time to play or, like Brodie, do whatever I want outside.

The more I watched this pint-size plea, the more I wondered why weekends are relegated to two days. I realized many have already done a lot of the investigating so I didn't have to do much work.

Blame Henry Ford

Well, maybe don't blame him. Just know that in 1926 he decided his workers would have five eight-hour days on the job. He thought this would encourage workers to take vacations and go shopping on Saturdays. Ford was also paying his workers double the going rate ($5 a day) so once they had time off, they had time to spend their hard-earned money.

"People who have more leisure must have more clothes. They eat a greater variety of food. They require more transportation in vehicles."

Nearly 100 years later, after a global pandemic that forced a lot of people to work from home and abandon traditional office wear for athleisure (or at least a business on top, comfort on the bottom look for Zoom), and now a return to the office for many, Ford's statement still rings true.

This timeline says the by 1938, the work week was capped at 44 hours. It took two more years for the 40-hours work week to become law.

Time for change?

Talk of scaling back work time is not new. In 2014, big corporations were already talking about employees being more productive working four days a week. One found employees actually did better work with that three-day weekend. How do employers win?

• Happy employees don't leave
• It's easier to find new employees
• Stress is manageable (AKA employees are healthier)

Some companies have shifted employees to four 10-hour days while, others stuck to the 8-hour days. Those 32-hour workweeks actually saw increased revenue. While there has been some research that said people might be less productive at the end of that longer shift, reducing childcare and transportation costs for workers still makes that four-day workweek appealing. 

I can't speak to the childcare issue but I know it's definitely expensive! The commute can really be a killer. Depending on how far you live from work, you may lose an hour or more of your day just sitting in your car. You're not productive. At best, you can maybe make a call or two and listen to a podcast. At worst, your blood pressure goes up thanks to the stress of trying to get somewhere on time while surrounded by people who think they're the only ones trying to get somewhere.

I have worked many different schedules in my time (if you don't read that with an old lady voice, this is not your space). While I didn't always love being at work at night or on weekends, I did love being able to run errands or schedule repair/maintenance/installation services on a weekday without having to miss work. I have also learned how stress really does take a toll on your whole being. Kids, commuting, plain ol' life - that stress adds up!

I like working but I have also learned to appreciate time away. Getting to rest and recharge makes the return to work easier to handle. I know people look forward to those short work weeks when there's a holiday coming even when they also know it's going to mean having to play catch up when they return. That third day off can be a game changer. I see why stressful jobs like law enforcement, fire fighting and health care have them. 

As a job searcher, I am not looking for a four-day week but I wouldn't call that a deal breaker. Maybe employers could offer flexible scheduling for employees? I have never been a clock watcher. I am the kind of employee who works until I get the job done. If it's early, I'm looking to help others. I would love the kind of employer who could say, "You've finished, so why are you here? Go home." It wouldn't be taken out of PTO. It would just be off - not free time, but time earned and acknowledged as such. The former manager in me sees potential for abuse but if you're good at hiring and leading people, that doesn't happen (at least not for long). Happy employees are good employees!

I have zero power to implement these changes but I'm listening! I'm also playing those big lottery games because why can't I be a millionaire? Don't come at me with odds. People buy tickets and win. That's how it works. Millionaires get to decide how much (or how little) they work. It sure looks like it's time for that to trickle down. 

It's not just me talking. 

Ask Brodie.

UPDATE: A study of the four-day work week wrapped up in England and it definitely sounds like something folks on this side of the pond should be giving some serious consideration.

Revenue grew 1.4% over the course of the trial for 23 companies that provided adequate data — weighted for the size of the business — while a separate 24 companies saw revenue climb more than 34% from the same six-month period a year earlier.
For Platten’s, “I don’t think we were really measuring it in terms of profitability,” Wainwright said. “That’s not really it for us. We wanted to measure it in productivity. And actually, the productivity has gone through the roof.”
For all those who participated in the trial, there was a drop in the likelihood of employees quitting, down 57% compared with the same period a year earlier, as well as those calling out sick, down 65% from a year ago, according to the findings.