5 reasons why we would all benefit from working fewer days
Hello fellow Protagonists,
News is out that research has found a 4 day work week to be more beneficial overall for those over 40.
Here are 5 reasons why The Daily Buff believes it would better for those both over and under 40. For the sake of fairness, naturally.
It has already been proven once that reducing hours worked increases productivity
Around 100 years ago the work week used to be 6 days on and 1 day off. As soon as one of these days was removed, also reducing weekly hours from 48 to 40, the productivity and profits of Ford doubled over the following 2 years.
If something happened once, it can happen again.
It keeps your cognitive ability up (you won't suck at your job so much)
It has been identified that once we work over 40 hours a week, our productivity decreases overall. We could, in theory, end up achieving less in 55 hours than we did in 40.
Coming from a workplace that offers out overtime like sweets, this is quite concerning.
There are also questions around how many hours employees work even when they are contracted to 40 hours, many working 6-7 hours more each week on average.
Imagine the extra time to focus on what really matters
Being social is seriously important for our overall well-being.
Booking a random Friday off from work can be relaxing but there is a strong change that you may spend this alone, or with your partner if you managed to book the day off together. It is pretty much a given that none of our working friends and family would also be off to spend the day with.
If we all had this Friday off though...
It is better for the environment
Simple maths (math for our America cousins) says that 4 days commuting is less than 5 days commuting.
The average total commuting time in the UK is 58.4 minutes a day and has only been increasing over the last decade. This is per person as well, so if both you and your partner work that is close to 2 hours of combined commuting each day.
Lots of exhaust fumes spluttering away.
There may be plenty of cyclists around inner-city areas of the UK, but take it from someone who lives in a commuters town, we are nearly all driving cars to work. Big cars as well to show how important we are.
The odd cyclist I may stumble across is only causing small personal traffic jams.
Our overall spending would decrease
If we are generally happier then we would be less inclined to purchase things to cheer ourselves up (which doesn't work for long). This is a recommended action from the book Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin, to identify those things we buy that we may not have done if we didn't work where we did.
For example, if we feel the need for a cheeky pint in the evening to "wind down" from a hard day's work.
Add this to less fuel to fill at petrol stations each week, fewer meal deals to buy at lunch times, cheaper car insurance renewals due to lower mileage and fewer cake sales (original) at the office.
I think we would end up quids in even if we did decide to use some of our new days off for leisure activities with a cost.
Is there anybody out there who already works 4 days a week? Get in touch and let me know what the future feels like.
GLHF
Warrick
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