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Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

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Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#61
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Im more inclined to believe the lazy mentality is from lifestyle and cultural stemming If this generation is on a par with previous generations, or even surpassing them, wouldn't that indicate they're less lazy? You can't have it both ways - either they're lazy and that explains why they're behind, or they're not behind and that has to mean they're not lazy. How can they be both lazy and ahead ?

I think its bifurcated. Theres ambitious and lazy people in every generation.

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Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're not going to be able to live where most people want to live . That's far different from having no house. "Giving up on housing" is not the right answer. "Start small and work your way up", like most of us did. See, when you hit 20, you're looking at your parents, and you're seeing them when they're 45 or 50. You're not seeing them when they were 20. You expect that you're going to be able to live like they…

lol good luck telling that to this this community who are frustrated they cant afford a home in the most niche place on earth and refuse to live anywhere else.

Is wanting to live less than an hour commute to work "the most niche place on earth"? Most people I know are renting because they can't afford anything within an hour commute and we have grown up hearing and seeing the pains of the commuter life. So why saddle ourselves with both a 30 year mortgage for a overpriced home that will also drain us of 10+hrs/week

Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#63
post #2

Source for the article: “Younger workers want a 4-day workweek — and some would give up remote work or higher pay for it” https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/younger-workers-wa... > Close to 8 in 10 Gen X and baby boomer workers (or 78 percent for those between the ages of 43 and 77 combined) support a four-day workweek. > But younger workers indicate they’re willing to go to greater lengths for the schedule, a…

If they (or you, or anyone) want a 4 day work week, then why not pick a profession that allows it? Most healthcare related fields work in 12 hour shifts, so working 3-4 days a week is the normal standard. Not every professional job is an office job 9-5.

Because changing a profession is really hard, and at a certain point in your life basically impossible without a big pay cut.

Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#64

One way to think about it is that you’re getting a 20% pay bump. It’s not 1:1 exactly but I’m willing to bet a lot of people would trade certain perks for a 20% bump. But it’s a net loss for society to remove these perks. Being young means you don’t need these perks. You don’t give a damn about healthcare, child care, or life insurance. But you most likely will in a decade and getting it back these perks would be nea…

I don't think this is a reasonable way to think about it. You are getting 20% more *per hour* but that isn't the same as a 20% pay bump. It doesn't help you afford a house, raise kids or buy luxuries. (Unless you use that extra 20% time to find a different job that pays similar).

Personally I would switch to a 4 day week with 20% less salary. I would probably even be more than 80% of my current productivity because I'm definitely less productive on many Fridays.

Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#65

If they (or you, or anyone) want a 4 day work week, then why not pick a profession that allows it? Most healthcare related fields work in 12 hour shifts, so working 3-4 days a week is the normal standard. Not every professional job is an office job 9-5.

I think this should be a common sense rule: If your statement starts with “why don’t they just” or some sort of variant: Think about it twice.

You’re suggesting that 92% of the young workforce concentrates on the few jobs with extended shifts. 92% of the next gen of workers will not be working a 9-5 in your scenario.

Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#66

If they (or you, or anyone) want a 4 day work week, then why not pick a profession that allows it? Most healthcare related fields work in 12 hour shifts, so working 3-4 days a week is the normal standard. Not every professional job is an office job 9-5.

> why not pick a profession that allows it? > Most healthcare related fields work in 12 hour shifts

I don't know, but I guess working 12 hour shift has something to do with it. Around where I live healthcare workers are also often on strike because of low wage and poor working conditions.

Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#67

Young people don't want to work hard because there's little incentive. No matter how hard you work, unless you're in the top 5%, you're far priced out of most places most people want to live. You can afford everything comfortably beside housing & health care (which you don't need much of when you're young) on a relatively low wage in the US. So you've pretty much given up on housing. What's the point in working hard?

Add in a certain amount of awareness that more consumption as in bigger car, more square feet and shorter product replacement cycles isn't just good.

Sure, few people would actively reject an opportunity to have a high footprint life, but the relative attractivity between footprint maximization and having other priorities in life certainly aren't the same as they used to be in the days of infinite growth illusions.

The effect you describe is much stronger I think, but they are not competing, they complement each other.

Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#68
post #41

Young people don't want to work hard because there's little incentive. No matter how hard you work, unless you're in the top 5%, you're far priced out of most places most people want to live. You can afford everything comfortably beside housing & health care (which you don't need much of when you're young) on a relatively low wage in the US. So you've pretty much given up on housing. What's the point in working hard?

Probably the same as it's ever been. Out of three random employees, you have one who's just going through the motions, one who's working hard, and one who's actively hostile. Which one gets the money when review time rolls around? That, and what's the long term strategy? Do they turn 30 and flip from working part time at Pizza Hut to a professional salaried career? Good luck getting an interview with that CV. I'm not…

>Which one gets the money when review time rolls around?

Trick question. None of them.

Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#69
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm Australian but have lived in Europe for a long time. When I begin to consider moving back, one of the things that puts me off is that 4 weeks is pretty much universal in Australia, plus in Australia I think it's pretty standard to have a fixed number of days you're allowed to be sick. I'm too used to having 6 weeks holidays and essentially unlimited sick leave (as long as it's legitimately required). It's a more…

> It's a more grown-up arrangement where businesses realise that regular time off (and as much time as you need if ill) increases happiness and therefore productivity. Is there a metric of some sort that I can share with other people that demonstrates 4 weeks PTO does work and has led to increased productivity in Australia? I personally believe in shorter work weeks, but my experience is anecdotal, so was wondering i…

As an Australian, the only metric that matters for me is >80% of all semi-competent developers, designers, and founders I knew (including myself) left AU because they hit a career ceiling normalized by that culture.

Zero local innovation, and the relatively healthy economy is mostly due to exporting stuff to Asia (education, tourism, and resources).

Re: Young people would sacrifice other perks for a 4-day workweek

#70
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, this is simply not the case. Inflation adjusted housing prices per square foot has been flat for the last 50 years with slight fluctuations. Houses increased in footage, so inflation adjusted house prices have been flat vs wages (that grew). Perception of things being different is simply because everyone and their dog is trying to fit into the few most attractive areas where prices have indeed skyrocketed. U.S.…

Urbanisation is a trend across the entire globe for many more reasons than just wanting to live in a few attractive areas. And it's absolutely necessary for us to urbanize instead of the wasteful way we use our land, in order to avoid the impending climate, biodiversity, and energy crises. Anyway --- with this square footage argument. End of the day, I'm still priced out of a house, whether it'd be a big one or a sma…

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