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Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

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Re: Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

#121

Post by koala_man »

mlyle wrote: post #73
kbenson wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a little worried about how that would affect the lower class in the short term. It's easy to say that they'll get more money as they'll get a day of overtime, but I think it's more likely that a lot of people will find that businesses just staffed up more for low skilled positions (and eventually for skilled positions), and then people have more time but are only making 80% of what they were previously, and can't…

I'm not saying to abolish the minimum wage. I'm just saying to reduce the nominal workweek before overtime. > just staffed up more for low skilled positions (and eventually for skilled positions), There's not an infinite supply of bodies out there. It's not clear where you'd just "find 10% more people"-- at least not without raising comp. And, of course, getting closer to full employment is a good thing in itself...…

>It's not clear where you'd just "find 10% more people"

Well, you just gave millions of low-income workers 10% less money and 10% more time, so my guess is that more people would be forced to get a second job.

Re: Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

#122

Post by taude »

twalla wrote: post #83
austinl wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the company I work for shuts our offices down from the 24th to the 2nd. Engineers submit availability for on-call schedules, and get a gift card for each on-call day they're responsible for. I feel very spoiled, but I think this is generally a trend amongst west-coast tech companies? I've had a similar experience at previous places, and it seemed like the rationale for the holiday…

The real rationale is to remove a metric shitton of accrued PTO from their books if paying out PTO on employee departure is something the company does.

Our office shutdown doesn't use PTO, either.

My friends in agency life used to have their office shutdown from the time of the holiday party, until the new year. Which was about 2 to 2.5 weeks.

Re: Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

#123

Post by stronglikedan »

GordonS wrote: post #35
vitno wrote: post #16

4 day work weeks as a concept real clicked for me when put into ratios. It's a 50% increase in personal time and only a 20% reduction in work hours.

I switched to a 4-day work week several years ago (maybe 7 or 8, forget), taking. 20% pay cut. Ot really does feel like such a better work-life balance - as you say, it's a much bigger increase in personal time than it is a decrease in working hours. And I am just as productive as when I worked 5 days a week!

> And I am just as productive as when I worked 5 days a week!

For 20% less compensation! I'd rather do the 4-10s for full pay, without the pressure to get 40 hours of work done in 32 hours.

Re: Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

#125

Post by rectang »

silentsea90 wrote: post #78
rectang wrote: post #75

It certainly doesn't seem like it's within our grasp on HN. Looking at the December 2021 "who is hiring" thread, I see four posts which offer "part-time" but aside from that nothing which specifies that either a 4-day or sub-40-hour workweek is an option.

Bolt in SF has a 4 day workweek. Check them out.

Thank you, I did. :) While I'm not looking for a position at this moment, I've added Bolt to the list of companies I'll actively consider when I'm back in the market a few months from now.

Re: Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

#126

Post by unklefolk »

If you have a young family, working a 4 day week would make all the difference. At the moment I work 5 days and then go into a weekend which can be just as tiring as a work day with kids to tend to. With an extra day, this would mostly be when the kids are at school, so it would be genuine time to myself.

Re: Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

#127

Post by yupper32 »

koch wrote: post #49

Shoutout to philmcp who was able to quit his job recently to work on https://4dayweek.io full time!

For being so progressive, I'm surprised that not a single listing I clicked had salary ranges.

It's just not worth the effort of even considering these companies without salary ranges. 4-day work weeks mean nothing if it means getting paid <80% market rate.

Re: Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

#128

Post by [deleted] »

koala_man wrote: post #121
mlyle wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not saying to abolish the minimum wage. I'm just saying to reduce the nominal workweek before overtime. > just staffed up more for low skilled positions (and eventually for skilled positions), There's not an infinite supply of bodies out there. It's not clear where you'd just "find 10% more people"-- at least not without raising comp. And, of course, getting closer to full employment is a good thing in itself...…

>It's not clear where you'd just "find 10% more people" Well, you just gave millions of low-income workers 10% less money and 10% more time, so my guess is that more people would be forced to get a second job.

[deleted]

Re: Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

#129

Post by ethbr0 »

trcarney wrote: post #96
anonAndOn wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There should be no minimum wage. Spoken like a true capitalist! The young, dumb and disadvantaged should be thankful for the pennies that trickle their way. It's not like they're gonna sue if they get ripped off, they're broke. Besides, they can always move into high paying career ladders just as soon as they can afford to stop taking the bus everywhere. /s

You will be paid at the highest rate you can command based on the value of your skills in the labor force. If you have no relevant skills, you don't make much money until you do have relevant skills. You earn shit money and then build your skills and then you will no longer earn shit money. It's pretty simple and it is what happens to most minimum wage workers and workers in any sector of the economy.

How do you build your skills, if you're spending 40+ hours a week working to make ends meet and trying to care for a family?

You're arguing from an ideal situation, without taking into account that reality's average is very much less than ideal.

Re: Is the four-day workweek finally within our grasp?

#130

Post by jhallenworld »

trcarney wrote: post #72
jedberg wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In an ideal spherical cow world, having no minimum wage would work exactly as you describe. In the real world, that's you how get slavery. For many reasons, not everyone has a choice to turn down a $1/hr job.

I don't understand how people hold your view. Would you except a $1/hr job? No, then why do you think other people would. If you can make more money walking through a parking lot picking up change, why would you work. Plus companies wouldn't want to hire at $1/hr because what kind of employee are you getting? Your competitor down the street paying more money would then get the better employees and drive you out of bu…

I don't have a problem with no minimum wage, but I do have a problem with people starving and homeless. So I'm willing to give up on the minimum wage for any viable alternative. For example, UBI paid for by taxes on employers.
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