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Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

cnn.com

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Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

#301

Post by trillic »

p_j_w wrote: post #260
imetatroll wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cannot put my finger on why I dislike this comment so deeply but I am a parent and I suspect you are not. To be specific I dislike your framing and use of the word "forced". I do agree though that parents should deeply love and support their kids which is what it sounds like you are trying to say. And in turn, your kids should do the same despite "generational differences".

>To be specific I dislike your framing and use of the word "forced". Why?

Because it directly contradicts their world view where child-rearing and the success of said child’s genetics is the highest purpose one can pursue.

Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

#302

Post by tokioyoyo »

djha-skin wrote: post #299

UBI in the 2010s, 4 10s in the late 2000s. These things never stick. 5 8s is a great compromise between employers and employees. Every time someone tries something different they decide they don't like it, either the employer or the employee. My employer hired me for 4 tens. I felt like a zombie during the week. I'd much rather have a few extra hours every day than a Friday to myself, especially since I need to go in…

The argument against is, 5 day work week only started ~100 years ago. Growing up, I thought, as humanity we would automate as much as we can, and lower the work week as well. Didn’t think people will consider that as “failure or laziness”.

The problem is, you can’t let the competitive market to make it happen, as your competition will eat you. The best thing you get is talent retention. But not the shareholder value or the products that you might be manufacturing.

Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

#303

Post by apt-apt-apt-apt »

Rendello wrote: post #224
makeitdouble wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also anecdotaly know a number of people in that bucket. I don't know for your friend, but for many it comes down to not caring that much about having "friends". They will prioritize their hobbies over basically anything, including socialization (they can still socialize inside their hobby group, but they might not be "friends" in the traditional way) I'd see it as the same line of thinking as DINK, except with a si…

Fair enough, I like having friends but have a hard time figuring out when to fit them into my schedule. In this case, I know my friend's friend talked about constant overtime and not having a life outside of the office. I sent Mai this video of the crazy day-in-the-life of a salaryman in Japan [1], and we both felt it was crazy, but she said "I actually think he likes it". Some people are cut out for overtime every d…

Good to know about the obviative case, that there's a name for these type of things.

When writing docs in code recently, it struck me as a little odd that pronouns can be used as a shorthand when referring to a singular and a plural, but can't be if they have the same plurality.

E.g. "When the name and errors exist, and it is non-empty and they are capitalized, ..."

Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

#305

Post by vips7L »

djha-skin wrote: post #299

UBI in the 2010s, 4 10s in the late 2000s. These things never stick. 5 8s is a great compromise between employers and employees. Every time someone tries something different they decide they don't like it, either the employer or the employee. My employer hired me for 4 tens. I felt like a zombie during the week. I'd much rather have a few extra hours every day than a Friday to myself, especially since I need to go in…

To me it just sounds like you’re working too hard. I’d much rather have 4 10s because I’m not working the full day any way.

Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

#306

Post by 15155 »

Cumpiler69 wrote: post #295
askonomm wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, also in Northern Europe. Here in Estonia kids as young as 5 years old even go to kindergarten on their own. They take a bus and are just fine. Seems to me the helicopter parenting is mostly a thing in the U.S.

Because in the US parents can get arrested if their children go out alone. It's a failure on their laws. And of their infrastructure where everyone wants to have their own suburban kingdom with large back yard, swimming pool, garage for two SUVs and workshop. Americans don't like living in small apartments like Europeans and Asians so this is what they get.

I grew up in the US with parents that had a suburban kingdom, large back yard, swimming pool, garage for three SUVs, and workshop: I walked to, waited for, and rode the bus to kindergarten.

"This is what they get" is false causation, these things have been present for decades. Helicopter parenting, liability for walking around alone, special snowflake treatment are all newly-introduced ideas.

Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

#307

Post by talldayo »

carlosjobim wrote: post #288
imetatroll wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I entirely agree. And when you lather on the tidal wave of endless "entertainment" and options available to most people they end up framing everything in their minds as "having fun" vs "having kids". I also know many women who say they don't want to "do that to their bodies" so ... where is this all going. And honestly I agree with the "if you are single you should pay more taxes" as a motivator to either get you to…

[flagged]

> It's vanity only.

What a profoundly ignorant statement. How much would I have to pay you to put on 30 pounds and deal with morning sickness for the next 9 months? Does $0 sound about right?

Oh, so now it's not about vanity and has everything to do with your comfort as an individual. Crazy what a tiny bit of empathy can do - and we haven't even gotten to the messy part yet.

Fucking ingrate. What's next, men don't want to pass kidney stones because it makes them feel emasculate?

Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

#308

Post by bestthrowaway »

jefbyokyie wrote: post #172
dukeyukey wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case, it's taking care of the elderly to the huge detriment of the young. And when you do that, you kinda lose the future.

Exactly. What sane grandparent would want to live at the cost of cannibalizing their grandchildren? What the sandwich generation received as kids, they need to pay that forward , not back . For one, I don't want a long life. I want to live as long as I'm not a burden. Don't want to burn down in my final years all that I will have built up for my kids and their kids. Now, they say that anime is not real life in Japan,…

I agree with you, wholeheartedly. Children should not be guilted into taking care of their elders.

My parents are immigrants from Southeast Asia and the culture is similar, but it's children taking care of their parents (in all facets, including financially). People ask me why I'm not rich despite making a Silicon Valley salary without living in Silicon Valley... Well, I pay two rents (mine and my parents'). Yes, I know they can move in with me to save money, yes I could just say no and leave them in the lurch, yes I could do xyz, but this is the reality.

I do have the sense of duty towards them, because they took care of me and my siblings, and we wanted for nothing, despite not being an affluent family. But the tradition stops with me. I personally would never make my kids take care of me like that, and I would rather be euthanized early than have my family's last memories of me being bedridden, changing my bed pan, etc. And I'm taking all measures necessary to ensure that I leave my family a financial legacy (life insurance, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, etc).

Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

#309

Post by talldayo »

missedthecue wrote: post #248
talldayo wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are already taxes subsidies for couples and children - that's plenty enough incentive for wealthy families that can support kids. Families that cannot afford to feed or house children should in no way be penalized for refusing to start a family in their present situation.

The reality is the public pensions and healthcare implode without much higher taxes or much higher birth rates. Like the Italian president told his people a few years, if we want things to stay the same, things are going to have to change.

Things aren't going to change. America just let private wealth run rampant over everything that matters and now wants to usher in an administration that (supposedly) wouldn't touch your civil liberties with a 50 foot pole. Trump says he won't even commit to banning abortion (sounds about right for a guy that's probably paid for dozens of 'em).

So... how are things going to "have to change" if you can't threaten childless couples and you can't redistribute the wealth to people that do want kids? Continually fearmonger mandatory birthing policies without actually implementing them just to get a rise out of your citizens? It's nonsense, and if America is given a choice between "fucking over wealthy people" and "having tons of kids to staff McDonalds at minimum wage" I can tell you offhand which one 99% of citizens will pick. We're already halfway there given how far China has surpassed the US in places - today's Americans hate capitalism so much they're content watching their country suffer until businesses get the message.

Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees

#310

Post by Tade0 »

orangecat wrote: post #109
reverendsteveii wrote: post #29

I feel like it's been a long time fretting over falling birth rates and this is the first time I've seen anyone float the idea that making life better for people might make them a bit more inclined to make more people.

It's actually that life is too good for childless people, especially when they're wealthier. Take a DINK couple with high paying jobs, say an engineer and an attorney. Without kids they can have a nice house or condo, regularly take great vacations, and still be saving enough to have the option of retiring in their 40s or 50s. But with kids, that mostly goes out the window. The societal expectation is that you should…

What you're saying is true, but I believe there are other factors at play as well.

A significant part of the decrease in fertility rates comes from the sharp decline in teen pregnancy (counted as live births) over the past 30 years.

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