THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC UPENDED office traditions around the world, making working from home the new normal and Zoom meetings the favored way to catch up with colleagues and clients. But millennials, often bashed by their elders as being work-shy, are keen for more reforms to the work-life balance, with polling showing the generation is considerably in favor of adopting a four-day working week.
This concept is simple: employees work a day less than the standard five, which works out as 32 work hours instead of 40. Workers still have to complete the same amount of work in 80 percent of the time, while in many cases still taking home their full compensation package. Numerous major companies have introduced a reduced week either every week or just some weeks, including Kickstarter, Bolt and Dolby.
The idea is certainly gaining momentum. Bernie Sanders, chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, has pushed for four-day weeks in Congress. "The sad reality is, Americans now work more hours than the people of most other wealthy nations. And we're going to talk about what that means to the lives of ordinary people," he told lawmakers at a health committee hearing in March.
"In 2022, employees in the U.S., and I hope people hear this, logged 204 more hours a year than employees in Japan, and they're hardworking people in Japan; 279 more hours than workers in the United Kingdom; and 470 more hours than workers in Germany." Newsweek contacted Sanders via email for comment and clarification on these figures.
Outside of the Capitol, numerous companies and nonprofits dedicated to revolutionizing the way we work are becoming more and more notable.
Several trials have been run in the U.S., U.K. and Europe to explore the potential benefits of relaxing more and working less. And it seems the younger generations are keen to capitalize on this growing trend.
Denne historien er fra May 24, 2024-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
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Denne historien er fra May 24, 2024-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
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Falling for Romance
A new book, Nora Ephron at the Movies, celebrates the writer/director best known for her iconic rom-coms and strong female characters
Cracking the Norse Code
Walrus DNA has shown that Vikings were likely the first to have encountered Indigenous North Americans
Monumental Shift
The discovery of 165-million-year-old crystals Easter Island has upended the longheld notion of how the Earth's \"conveyor belt\" moves
'OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC REFORMS ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN'
It is a well-known fact across the globe that the North Korean regime is irrational and unpredictable, but we have been consistent in strengthening our defense posture against the threat from North Korea since the Korean War, and I believe that their conventional capability is much inferior to that of the Korean military.
'They Read My Eulogy As I Lay in an Open Grave'
Like Paris Hilton, Natasia Pelowski claims she was subjected to abuse at a teenage therapy program
Russian Economy Faces 'Burnout'
Vladimir Putin admits difficulties” as the country’s key interest rate reaches a historic high
China's 'Silent Chemical War'
The U.S. must investigate Beijing's role in the manufacturing of fentanyl that is killing Americans, says one mom whose daughter died after accidentally taking the illicit substance
HARSH HEADWINDS
President Yoon Suk Yeol's BATTLE to reform a South Korea beset with structural problems under the specter of an increasingly aggressive neighbor to THE NORTH
Bridget Everett
BRIDGET EVERETT NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D BE THE LEAD OF A TV SHOW. \"I come from the downtown world in New York, a cabaret singer, and these things just don't happen, you don't find yourself with three seasons of HBO.
Amber Ruffin
A LATE-NIGHT COMEDY SHOW ON CNN? YES, and it's a game show, too.
