Thank God It’s Thursdays?
0posted 11th January, 2012 under Food for Thought.
Imagine it’s Friday morning. You open your backdoor, wander down to your humble veggie patch, pull a few handfuls of fresh basil from your recent summer crop, rip out a fully bloomed garlic bulb, set down to your clean kitchen and gear yourself up for a busy day of pesto making. A little Pleasantville right? Well, that’s the theory behind plenitude economy as heralded by the “Center for the New American Dream
Why do I like it? Keeping in mind that my brain is not wired for economics and analysis of fine data is not my forte, they advocate a 4 day work week in the name of reducing the impact of our consumer economy. Given that Australians currently work some of the longest hours in the world, I think this might be something to somewhat consider.
As government bodies and businesses embark upon cost cutting measures, the idea behind the 4 day work week sounds crazy and contrary to the hard wired idea that hard work = hard profits and productivity. According to plentitude economy however, 3 day weekends (just writing it feels luxurious) would not only save money but alleviate the crushing demands placed upon our environment and public health at large.
While the 4 day work week has not been attempted in Australia, it has been surprisingly implemented in the land of golden opportunity in Utah and with dramatic consequences. Utah transformed the working week for its 17,000 workers, back in August 2009. On Friday, all the lights, elevators and computers are firmly switched off and there is a distinct lack of cleaners scrubbing the floors of vacant buildings. Not surprisingly their electric bills have reduced significantly, indeed as of May; the state saved $1.8 million.
The recent economic downturn could be seen as the catalyst in debate surrounding the 4 day work week, as businesses sought ways to reduce costs without laying off several members of staff. Employers realised that they could save money without reducing the weekly hours. That is, have workers, maintain their 40 hour week, but spread it across 4 days as opposed to 5. And just to make sure this isn’t spreading the workload thinly, a survey entitled ’Working for Utah’ which was conducted in May, showed that 82% of people wanted to maintain the 4 day work week!
On another positive note, it appears the 4 day work week is environmentally savvy too. According to John Langmaid of the Connecticut Law Review, “If employees are on the road 20 percent less, and office buildings are only powered four days a week, the energy savings and congestion savings would be enormous.”Furthermore if working hours are different for everyone Monday-Thursday, then traditional peak hour commuting times would diminish and speed up the route to work. Less time spent idling means less pollutants seeping into our environment.
And what would we do with this blissful 3 day weekend? Well Juliet Schorr, the godmother, if you will, of Plentitude Economy sums it up nicely on her ‘Plentitude Blog’. Reduced hours would allow us to engage in low impact, self providing pursuits that encourage us to be less dependent on the market. Growing your own veggies, making your own doilies, crafting dresses (the usual daily pursuits) are all such activities that are surprisingly satisfying. And no, I’m not living in some fairytale bubble. I seriously think if we had to take up pursuits we’d relish these simplistic measures of passing the time. Although I do know the sewing machine and I were never meant to be friends. But that’s not to say I can’t grow an awesome vegetable patch! Imagine all the new business start ups or second careers, as people ran away to build a flea circus, liberated by their new found skills!
Freeing ourselves from the formal market will encourage a small but ultimately greener business sector. More time to yourself will encourage us to consume differently and we finally might be able to achieve the work life balance. I think this is the hardest concept to wrap our heads around, when so many of us have been brought up to ‘relax’, ‘unwind’ and ‘indulge’ via spending. More time, and less money on consuming will force us to buy things we need vs want and more importantly buy things that last or can be repaired. That being said, given that we are so driven by instant gratification, I’d suggest we just might find it difficult not to make a beeline for the cheap and nasty when satisfaction is so dependent on spending.
What do you think? Does the four day week sound laughable or plausible? More importantly, what would you do with a 3 day weekend?
