Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
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Re: Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
#2I once brought up the idea of a 4-day work week to a PM I worked with, and her immediate reaction was very defensive, as she could not understand why would anyone want to work less, and who then would get all the work done. It made me realize that not all people actually want more freedom, some are most likely stockholm syndrom-ed to their job, and these are the people the rest of us are up against trying make positive change happen.
Explain to me how we haven't had a significant change in the amount of days per week or hours per week we work in about 100 years, and yet the amount of things we can get done now in that same amount of time is orders of magnitude more? Tell me we're not part of an ant colony with a injected idea of freedom to strive for, that we'll never really get, but that serves as a motivator so that we keep on grinding, oiling that capitalistic system for the benefactors of the few.
I swear it's like a sci-fi film plot.
Re: Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
#3I wish someone would investigate what a 6 day week would look like(4 work, 2 off). This article was always a fun exercise what if scenario and if world wide agreement could come to be, would be an innovation on par with the 40 hour work week.
https://calendars.fandom.com/wiki/6-Day_Week_Solar_Calendar_...
Re: Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
#4Instead of a 4-day workweek how about setting reasonable hiring standards so that hundreds of thousands of people out of work, especially non-native German speakers, have a chance of getting past the job application screen.
Most jobs, even in tech, in DE currently require good knowledge of German, and "good" is being interpreted as near-native.
Re: Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
#5I once brought up the idea of a 4-day work week to a PM I worked with, and her immediate reaction was very defensive, as she could not understand why would anyone want to work less, and who then would get all the work done. It made me realize that not all people actually want more freedom, some are most likely stockholm syndrom-ed to their job, and these are the people the rest of us are up against trying make positi…
> Tell me we're not part of an ant colony with injected idea of freedom to strive for, that we'll never really get, but that keeps us motivated workers striving towards that something.
Once the population pyramid is upside down, the ant colony model does not work anymore.
Re: Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
#6Instead of a 4-day workweek how about setting reasonable hiring standards so that hundreds of thousands of people out of work, especially non-native German speakers, have a chance of getting past the job application screen. Most jobs, even in tech, in DE currently require good knowledge of German, and "good" is being interpreted as near-native.
That is not true. Not in germany, not from my experience. If you speak english you are good. Your colleagues will be happy to pratice their english too.
Re: Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
#7I once brought up the idea of a 4-day work week to a PM I worked with, and her immediate reaction was very defensive, as she could not understand why would anyone want to work less, and who then would get all the work done. It made me realize that not all people actually want more freedom, some are most likely stockholm syndrom-ed to their job, and these are the people the rest of us are up against trying make positi…
People confusing outputs with outcomes. Being busy is not the same thing as being productive. You can be busy as hell working on things that are not valuable.
Re: Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
#8Instead of a 4-day workweek how about setting reasonable hiring standards so that hundreds of thousands of people out of work, especially non-native German speakers, have a chance of getting past the job application screen. Most jobs, even in tech, in DE currently require good knowledge of German, and "good" is being interpreted as near-native.
That is not true. Not in germany, not from my experience. If you speak english you are good. Your colleagues will be happy to pratice their english too.
Not for all jobs like traditional industrial German companies where everyone speaks German and have little foreigners.
Re: Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
#9Re: Germany explores 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
#10I once brought up the idea of a 4-day work week to a PM I worked with, and her immediate reaction was very defensive, as she could not understand why would anyone want to work less, and who then would get all the work done. It made me realize that not all people actually want more freedom, some are most likely stockholm syndrom-ed to their job, and these are the people the rest of us are up against trying make positi…
People confusing outputs with outcomes. Being busy is not the same thing as being productive. You can be busy as hell working on things that are not valuable.
Measuring output is hard, so people are emotionally and behaviorally married to the performance art (appearing busy) vs objective measures of output.
The only way to show it's possible is through experiments, which have been very successful showing limited reduction in productivity moving to a 4 day work week (which benefits workers by allowing them to live more full lives vs toiling at work an extra unnecessary day per week).
Another example is the 900+ school districts in the US that have moved to a four day week, as it is the only way they can retain talent.
As with everything, it will come as the population turns over, older workers aging out of power and relevance (either through retirement or death), and younger workers aging in with different ideas of work arrangements. Progress occurs one funeral at a time - Planck
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/companies-around-the-wo...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/02/21/four-day-...
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/uk-employers-4-day-workwe...
https://www.thestar.com/business/could-a-4-day-work-week-wor...
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/08/1211632901/schools-across-the...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-districts-4-day-week-tea...