Recent progress toward shorter hours among certain sectors of UK workers has set a starting point for a winnable demand for workers everywhere: a four-day workweek.
One interesting thing I was reading is that 4.5 day work-weeks are somewhat common in Pakistan, in order to accommodate both the international weekend (saturday/sunday) and the Muslim prayer on Friday afternoon.
Adopting that more widely could be a good incremental step, especially in places that offer remote options.
One thing I’d say that’s underrated is shorter opening hours in retail. The retail industry is too happy to be open 9am-10pm 7 days a week because workers are cheap, which means it’s economically impossible to pay a living wage without losing out as your competitors are open during hours when you’re not. They’re selling the same amount of stuff, just smeared over longer time and thus burning more employee-hours for the same output. The minimum wage hike here in Ontario seemed to produce a ratcheting back of these extreme hours; my local store went back to closing at 9pm, 8 on Sundays.
One interesting thing I was reading is that 4.5 day work-weeks are somewhat common in Pakistan, in order to accommodate both the international weekend (saturday/sunday) and the Muslim prayer on Friday afternoon.
Adopting that more widely could be a good incremental step, especially in places that offer remote options.
One thing I’d say that’s underrated is shorter opening hours in retail. The retail industry is too happy to be open 9am-10pm 7 days a week because workers are cheap, which means it’s economically impossible to pay a living wage without losing out as your competitors are open during hours when you’re not. They’re selling the same amount of stuff, just smeared over longer time and thus burning more employee-hours for the same output. The minimum wage hike here in Ontario seemed to produce a ratcheting back of these extreme hours; my local store went back to closing at 9pm, 8 on Sundays.